ANBU
by twinzees
Summary: Sakura had no idea what was in store for her when she signed up for the ANBU exams...SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everybody! This is my first fanfic, so please do not be too harsh on me if you decide to review. This story is rated T for language and maybe some scenes that are inappropriate for young readers.**

**Phew! It is only June and it feels like 107 º! I was at a softball tournament last weekend and my skin just about melted off my body! Anyhoos, enjoy the first chappie of this story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in Naruto—if I did, you probably wouldn't be reading this right now because it would be in the manga.:)**

**Thoughts:** _I scream!_

**Dialogue:** "You scream!"

**Normal:** We all scream for ice cream!

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**ANBU**

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By: twinzees

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**Chapter One**

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The loud noises that the chirping birds made outside my room woke me up from my deep slumber. Cracking one apple-green eye open, I shot a glare towards the window where the source of the racket was coming from. After taking one straight look into the bright yellow rays that were peeking through the dark curtains, I immediately shut my eye and suppressed a curse. After recovering from my early morning wake-up call, I rubbed my eyes and let out a loud yawn as I stretched out in my extremely fluffy, yet comfortable bed. Oh yes, sleeping in has to be one the greatest feelings in the world, especially when you wake up at 4 a.m. almost every day to work at the hospital.

_Wait a second…how come I'm not at work now?_

Bolting straight up from my position on the bed, I took a quick glance around the room. My emerald orbs zipped from the dark blue silk curtains on my left to the expensive oak chest drawers that were against the wall across from me.

_What the...? Where the hell am I?_

Shoving away the silky sheets, I felt the chilly air in the room make contact with my skin, which made the tiny hairs on my arms stand straight up. Ignoring my body's protest of staying underneath the warm covers, I shifted to the side of the soft bed and let my feet touch the freezing wooden floor. It was only then when I realized what I was dressed in: a long, crimson red nightgown.

_And a mighty skimpy one, too._

My eyes scanned the room to see if there was any material that could cover up this hideous, over-revealing piece of cloth. As I glanced around the room, I tried to recall what happened last night, but nothing would come to mind. As I continued to search, I contemplated over my current situation.

First, I slept in, which is highly unusual because I always work unless I'm sick or on a mission. Then, I woke up in this place, which is definitely not mine because a.) I don't recognize it and b.) I'm too poor to own anything in this room. And now, I'm wearing this ridiculous outfit that is making me freeze my ass off!

My thoughts halted when I spotted a midnight black haori hanging from the knob of one of the doors. I pushed myself off the feathery-soft bed and started to walk around it. As I strolled around the humungus bed, I felt my velvety gown glide against my skin. With each step I took, I could feel the blood-colored dress flow, like waves, behind me as the hem dragged the floor. Before I went around the bedpost, however, a wave of dizziness struck me and I felt myself sway backwards. I grasped the post before I fell and brought my other hand to my face.

_Ugh...why am I so lightheaded?_

Ignoring the pounding headache that was starting to form, I picked up the black haori and immediately began to put the cloak-like jacket on, but something red caught my eye. Whipping the dark cloth off my arm, I held it out in front of me and stared in bewilderment at the symbol embroidered beautifully on the back.

_The Uchiha symbol!_

I felt like a ton of bricks had suddenly landed on my head as flashbacks of yesterday ran through my mind in a blur. Memories from the special event exploded in my brain like a tsunami crashing onto the shore. My mind skimmed through it, showing me brief visions of my very treasured moments:

The first glance into those dark, obsidian orbs as I walked down the aisle…

The first kiss against those perfect lips once the vows were enchanged…

The comforting embrace that made me feel protected as we greeted guests…

The first dance together with dozens of eyes peering happily at us …

The first minutes…

…as the wife of Uchiha Sasuke.

_Oh Kami, how could I not remember that when I woke up?!_

Clutching the haori against my chest, I tried to recall more events that happened, but everything after the wedding reception was too unclear for me to remember. Pushing those unsettling thoughts out of my head, I wrapped the black haori around me, letting the soft material swallow my slim figure.

_I'll have to think about that later. Right now I have to find Sasuke._

When I made sure everything revealing was covered up, I opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the dark hall. The only thing that illuminated the hallways was the morning sunlight that came in from other windows that occupied the rooms of the hall. I glanced in both directions before making my way down the long hallway.

After Sasuke came back to the village, I had been assigned to heal him at the Uchiha complex when he was released from the hospital. But even after visiting this place countless times, Sasuke had refused to let me heal him anywhere outside the living room. And because of his past, I knew he didn't want someone like me to venture into the very place where his late brother and/or parents used to reside in. Or, I thought with a pang of sadness, the place where they were killed. As one of his close friends at that time, I knew he was still inwardly grieving over the loss of his faithful brother. So I decided to never explore the area he was so sensitive about until he gave me his consent. Unfortunately, my mission ended before he completely got over his loss and I never had the chance to see this section of the household.

_Until now._

Continuing my quest, I went into an opened door to my right and peered into the small room. Lying against the wall near the corner of the room were two gigantic shelves that were filled with books. The other side of the room had several expensive-looking chairs. Even though the entire room was covered in dust, it still looked like a comfortable place.

"Sasuke?"

When I didn't hear an answer, I shut the door and made my way to a closed room across the hall. I cracked the door slightly and peaked into the pitch-black room.

"Are you in here, Sasuke?"

There was no reply.

Sighing, I pushed the wooden door wide open and ignored the way my head started spinning when I stepped into the stuffy room. I took small steps to make sure I wouldn't collapse and placed both my hands against the wall to keep my balance. When my dizzy-spell lessened, I began to feel for a light switch. One of my hands brushed the switch and I immediately flipped on the lights to examine the room. My eyes slightly widened at the sight before me: the room was enormous! There were four Uchiha symbols painted brilliantly on the walls with different kinds of weapons of every size hanging around them. In every corner there was a neatly arranged pile of weights, armors, and shields.

_Wow...this is an indoor training room!_

As I strolled across the room, my viridian orbs scanned through the many deadly weapons and materials.

_Most of these weapons are new…Sasuke must have recently reorganized this training area._

After I reached the other side of the room, I noticed that there was a closed door next to the tidy pile of training equipment. When I was in front of the door, I twisted the knob and pushed the wooden door open. As I looked down with curiousity into the shady stairway, I saw that the light from the training room only lit up the top part of the stairs in the dim passageway, leaving a mysterious, yet haunting atmosphere.

"Sasuke, are you down there?"

When there was no answer, I flicked on the light switch I spotted on the side of the wall and started to go down the stairs in order to explore the now bright passageway. The steep, ancient wooden stairway creaked noisily with every step I took. When I reached the bottom, I glanced around the tiny room until my eyes landed on a long, narrow desk that had hundreds of papers stacked on top of it. Walking towards it, I snatched up several documents and scanned through them. Most of them were ANBU mission reports, but some appeared to be detailed information about S-ranked shinobi. As one of the greatest ANBU captains of Konoha, Sasuke sure has lots of things to keep up with.

_I wonder if he received any information about the-_

Something on the desk that was folded beneath a pile of documents caught my sharp eye. Placing the papers that I held in my hands down on the desk, I pushed away the records and stats and grabbed the folded parchment to read what it said.

**Haruno Sakura, **

**You have been selected to-**

A powerful chakra signature suddenly impacted my senses.

_Sasuke._

Slightly panicked, I quickly slipped the parchment back to where I found it and shoved the massive tower of scrolls and papers over it.

"Sakura." The deep, booming voice that came from behind me made me jump.

Slamming a stack of letters back down on the desk, I sharply twisted my entire body around and looked up at the irritated face of my husband. A sharp pain had suddenly erupted inside my head, making me feel dizzier than before. I leaned my body against the desk, using both my arms to support myself.

"What are you doing?"

My face paled at his question.

_Oh, great. What should I say now?!_

Putting a sweet smile on my face, I hesitantly gazed into Sasuke's eyes.

"Hehe, oh, nothing much. I was trying to find you, but somehow I got lost and ended up down here."

_Spectacular Sakura. You had just been caught snooping around his desk and all you come up with is that?! Next time, just transform into Kakashi when you say that and he **might **believe you._

"Hn. Don't come down here again." He ordered as he kept his piercing eyes on me.

Ignoring the major headache pounding in my head, I nodded and pushed myself off the desk to head towards the stairs. I could feel my legs slightly wobble underneath my weight, but I pushed myself onward in order to escape the unbearable tension that had built up in the room.

"Well, if you need me I'll be upstairs."

Before any one of my feet touched the lower steps, I felt two the sturdy arms of my husband encircle my waist and drag me back into his well-built chest.

"S-Sasuke?"

The man didn't mutter a single word as he effortlessly swung me over his shoulders and carried me up the flight of stairs. I held in a squeak from the sudden action and struggled to fight the blush that had formed on my cheeks.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled as I struggled to get out of his hold, "Put me down this instant! I am perfectly capable of walking on my own!"

"No."

"Why you insufferable man!" I screamed, now pounding my fists on his back and debating over whether to use my chakra or not, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pummel you to the ground right now!"

"You're still weak."

Ohhhh…He did NOT just say the "W-word"!

"WHAT?! Let go of me! And don't you _dare_ call me weak! You know that I can handle-"

My indignant ramblings ceased when Sasuke gently plopped me down onto something soft. After gawking at my husband for several seconds, I looked around and realized that he brought me back into the bed I woke up in.

"Go to sleep Sakura, you're still recovering from last night." I stared with puzzlement at Sasuke's attractive visage.

"Last night?...What happened? What did I do?"

Sighing, my husband leaned over and placed the silky covers over my body.

"You had too many drinks."

Suddenly everything from last night started to become clear in my mind. Before I could reply, my husband, grumbling about my tipsiness and bad drinking habits from the Godaime, straightened up and turned around. I stared at his back (and maybe his sexy ass) as he made his way into the bathroom.

So that's the reason why I'm having terrible migraines and dizzy spells this morning…

After he shut the door, I turned to my side in the bed and tried to recall the memories of last night. I remember Sasuke and Shizune trying with all their might to keep the alcoholic beverages as far away from me as possible. I mean, I know I have a small drinking problem, but at least it wasn't as bad as my teacher's.

As a matter of fact, Tsunade-shishou tried to rub off her nasty habits on me, including gambling. However, the only thing she could pass on to me other than medical knowledge and super-human strength was her love for sake. In all honesty, I've never been as drunk as her; however, I might have overdone it last night.

_Oh damn it! I hope Sasuke isn't mad with me! I mean, I was with In--._

Now that I think about it, I specifically remember the blue-eyed Yamanaka dragging me into another room claiming that she "had a very tragic event that happened to her". Being the great friend I was, I went with her to an isolated room from the wedding reception and tried to comfort her. As I tried to cheer my blonde friend up, I remember her gulping down several cups of sake as she was crying and complaining about something. The only thing I remember after that was when I started drinking several cups of sake. During that time, I hoped that Ino would eventually calm down if I listened to her and drank along with her.

Unfortunately, things never go the way I hoped.

I remembered feeling slightly woozy after my tenth cup and everything after that became a complete blur. Only blurred images of last night went through my mind. Scrunching up my eyebrows, I closed my eyes as I tried to recall what happened while I was tipsy. I could barely make out Ino's face, which was slightly red from drinking too much. However, I couldn't recall the conversation we had at that time. After a short sigh, I bit my lip and attempted to concentrate harder on my thoughts.

_Come on, Sakura! Think! It only happened last night!_

After several seconds, another blurred memory finally came to me. In this memory, Ino and I were talking and giggling about something until a loud bang on the locked door interrupted our laughing fits. Immediately, I turned my head towards the door that was literally torn from its hinges and lying on the floor.

Looking up, I scarcely made out the tall form of a handsome man dressed in a dark-colored hakama. I slowly tilted my head up to take in the face of the muscular male; however, my eyes had to first pass the open folds of the kimono that showed off his toned chest.

What I saw next made my blood freeze: crimson, terrifying eyes stared angrily into my bright wide orbs for several moments.

"Sakura…" I heard him mutter maliciously.

I felt my body tremble slightly, but it soon disappeared as I recognized the furious raven-haired man…Sasuke Uchiha…my husband. Waves of glee replaced the fear in my body as I hastily pushed myself off the mat I was sitting on to greet my husband.

"Ssaasukee-kuuun!" I slurred as I tried to walk towards him.

As I made my way towards him, I could barely see the expression he had, but I could tell that his cold, terrifying glare softened slightly. When I was barely five feet from him, I clumsily tripped over one of the folds of my silk uchikake. I tried to stop myself by grabbing onto the raven-haired man's black haori, but the soft material glided through my slippery fingers before I could grasp it. Before I knew it, I felt the strong arms of my husband grab my shoulders as he gently pulled me closer to him. In his firm, yet gentle embrace, I felt one large hand carefully press the side of my head into his chest while the other one pulled me closer to him. I could sense my husband's head above mine as he slightly pressed his nose onto my cotton candy hair, breathing in my scent. After a few seconds, I could feel his grip around me tighten as if he never wanted to let me go.

"Tch…annoying woman."

Before I could retort, everything around me went black as I passed out in the arms of my husband.

Opening my eyes, I quickly let out a small gasp due to the shocking events that came to me from last night. Shifting my head on the fluffy pillow, I tilted my head to face the door of the bathroom. Behind the closed door, I could hear the water from the shower running. Sasuke has been taking a shower while I drifted off into my own thoughts. Staring at the door, waves of guilt washed over me as I replayed the occurrences of last night in my head.

_Oh Kami! Sasuke has got to be ticked at me! How could I have been so stupid!_

"Damn it!" I cursed softly as I sat up on the bed and tried to think of ways to apologize to Sasuke. A sharp pain that started in the back of my head suddenly spread throughout my entire brain. Clutching my head in both hands, I let out a cry of pain and tightly shut my eyes.

The creaking of an opening door made me slightly crack one eye open and what I saw made me momentarily forget about my pain. There standing in front of me was Sasuke with his lower body wrapped in a towel. I swallowed and looked up into the handsome face of my husband as I tried to fight a blush that was forming on my cheeks. I stared into his onyx orbs as droplets of water dripped from his hair and flowed down from his well-built chest onto the floor.

"You okay?" Sasuke murmured as he leaned towards me while placing both hands on the mattress.

Turning even redder than before, I turned my head to the side to avoid his gaze.

"I-I'm fine…I-I'm just having a b-bad hangover."

I then placed a hand on my forehead and applied a soothing chakra-healing technique to limit the pain.

"Hn."

My husband regained his proud posture and started to head back to the bathroom.

_Yep. He's still pissed._

"Wait, Sasuke!"

I turned my head back towards him. My eyes were glued to his toned back as he halted several centimeters from the door. Taking in a deep breath, I softly continued, "I owe you an apology...for last night." I stared at Sasuke's back for several seconds before I turned my gaze to my lap.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke…please forgive me," I whispered, "I wasn't thinking."

I paused to see if Sasuke would say something, but he stayed silent.

"Also," I continued," I ruined our night together because of my stupid mistake."

I blinked and tried to swallow the heavy and painful lump in my throat.

"Is there--" Before I could finish my pleading, my torso was forcefully pushed back onto the mattress and a hard muscular chest pressed onto mine.

"Sasuke, w-wha?!" I stuttered while biting my lip and trying not to blush at our positions.

"Apologizing will not make me forgive you, Sakura."

I bit my lip in fear as I felt drops of water runoff from his dripping wet hair onto my face.

"However," Sasuke continued as I felt him smirk against my ear, "there is another way you could make up for last night."

His closeness to me clouded my mind.

"H-Huh?" I squeaked.

_Gee...I'm really starting to sound like Hinata when she used to stutter..._

I felt soft butterfly kisses trail slowly down my neck. I tried with all my might to stifle a moan as I felt his rough hands trace the curves of my body. After nipping my ear several times, his lips finally met mine in a deep, passionate kiss. My hands immediately got tangled within Sasuke's wet hair as I felt him tugging at my silky red nightgown. When our kiss finally broke, I was panting slightly as beads of sweat started to form on my forehead.

"Sasuke-kun…" I muttered breathlessly as the back of my husband's hand gently brushed my cheek. I stared into my husband's eyes for several moments, taking in every beautiful feature he had, before the door to our room suddenly slammed open.

"Oi! Teme!" shouted a very obnoxious blonde-haired man,"Why are you sleeping in?! You promised to train with me today, remember!!...Don't tell me you're gonna turn into that lazy ass Shika-"

The voice stopped and I felt Sasuke's hard muscles go stiff.

"AHHH! What is THIS?! What are you two DOING?! This is-"

"Get out, you dobe!" My husband barked angrily as he tried to cover me from the other male's view.

I couldn't bear to look at Naruto with a tomato-red blush on my face. After several seconds, the blue-eyed shinobi let out a nervous chuckle. Gathering courage, I risked a glance at the future Hokage, who seemed to be more embarrassed than me.

"Well," Naruto smirked and coughed several times before traces of embarrassment fell from his face, "I guess I should give you two some alone time."

Wiggling his eyebrows, the nine-tailed fox carrier sniggered and said in his normally loud voice, "Don't get too carried away, the entire village might be able to hear more than the sweet chirping from the birds."

My face instantly turned ten times redder than before, but before I could retort, Sasuke barked, "Naruto…leave!" The whiskered blonde went out the door in a flash. Sighing, my husband slowly got out of his position and went back into the restroom.

"That idiot." I heard him mutter before he slammed the door.

Letting out a long sigh, I straightened my gown and sat up. Thinking about the experience Sasuke and I were about to go through before we were interrupted. My thoughts had to come to an end when my husband came back out fully dressed in his ANBU gear.

"I guess you're going to train with Naruto." I said as I got out of bed. Sasuke nodded once and looked at me.

"I need to do some errands at the hospital anyway, so you guys go ahead…oh, and meet me at Ichiraku for lunch."

He gave me another nod before he walked up to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. Wrapping my arms around him, I gave him a small peck on his lips and quickly muttered, "Don't kill each other, okay?" With that, my husband disappeared in a blur, leaving me alone in the Uchiha compound.

_To be continued…_

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**A/N: CUT! That's a wrap for today folks! Wow…typing this up took longer than expected because I realized how bad my grammar was. I also had to edit A LOT of sentences. I really do not like how this story is starting out and reviews/comments/concerns about this story would be greatly appreciated. So please click on the purple button in the lower corner. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **_**Yes people, I'm still alive. I'm just really slow at updating my stories. I can't change the amount of time it takes to update, but maybe I could get a little motivated and write faster if there are more reviews present (hint, hint):D. **

**And for those of you who submitted reviews, I appreciate your wonderful encouragement and comments. Now, onto the next chapter!**

**Thoughts: **_blah blah blah._

**Someone Speaking: **"blah _blah _BLAH."

**Normal: **blah blah blah.

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**ANBU**

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By: twinzees

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**Chapter Two**

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It was still morning when I was sweeping the front porch of the Uchiha complex. The bright, yellow sun glared down onto my scrunched up face as swirls of pollen and dust drifted around me. Feeling the familiar tingling-feeling in my nose, I immediately stopped sweeping and brought one hand up to my face.

"Ah…Ah…Achooo!"

_Ugh! That's the eighth time today! _

After rubbing my nose, I continued my morning chores by sweeping the steps. Once they were done, I set the broom down and wiped off the sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand.

_Phew…It's going to be a hot day…Thank Kami I don't live in Suna…_

Picking up the dirty broom and setting it aside, I made my way back up the steps, took off my sandals, and briskly walked inside the cool house. After taking off my white cleaning apron and hanging it up, I poured myself a glass of water and went back outside to sit on the edge of the porch. As I slowly sipped my cool beverage, I took the time to observe the condition of the Uchiha gardens: the lawn was pretty decent but the flower beds were a different story.

_Oh man! What a complete disaster!_

There were weeds sprouting up everywhere, and the flowers and plants themselves looked like they were dying from not being cared for. Sighing, I brought the cup of water up to my mouth and drank the last of it up. After setting the glass aside, I put my hands behind me for support and leaned back, gazing thoughtfully at the messy yard while swinging my dangling legs back and forth. Chewing my lip, I tried to think of ways to fix the gardens.

_Let's see…I'm sure I can get Ino to help me with some suggestions for flowers, and maybe I could get Konohamaru's squad to help me pluck the weeds out…Oh! And I could drag Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei over to help me lay down a new bed of dirt and fertilizer while Sasuke could-…_

My fantasizing thoughts harshly ended. Sasuke, knowing him, would never help out.

Twitching my eye, I suddenly recalled how Ino and I had worked hard on this particular garden four years previously in order to surprise him when he came back from his mission. We were hoping that this new change would help show Sasuke that his house needed some work and that it was more than just a monument of memories of the Uchiha massacre. We even specifically told him how to take care of his yard. Unfortunately, the Uchiha prodigy refused to do it; and when we questioned him he just told us that it was a "woman's job". Ino and I had never felt so insulted in our lives, so we just stomped away and let him handle the garden for the next few weeks. Of course, by the time we came over to check on it, the yard was already withering away.

Gritting my teeth, I drummed my nails against the wooden porch, trying not to think about that memory. I then thought about the strange characteristics of my husband when it came to chores. He was a very neat man; there was no doubt about that. I've noticed that he would always clean up after himself after he ate and, whenever he took a shower, his towels were always folded before being hung neatly. I have also noticed that the bottles in the bathroom were arranged neatly across the counter and the floor didn't have a single drop of water on it when I went to take a shower. In addition, when I was still a teenager, I use to clean his apartment while he went on missions. I remember searching the house one time to find a cloth to clean with, but I "accidently" stumbled upon a drawer of neatly folded boxers instead. My face turned slightly red at the memory, but it instantly disappeared when I went back to my previous thoughts. Even though Sasuke likes to keep certain things tidy, he still wouldn't do anything he thinks that females are supposed to do. But inwardly, I really knew that this garden was one of his "touchy" subjects. And to avoid painful memories, he just lets me handle it. Getting uncomfortable with my position on the porch, I sat up and crossed my legs.

T_here's no way Sasuke would offer a hand to help me in the garden. _

A small smirk appeared on my face as several thoughts popped into my head.

_Well that's definitely going to change soon. Maybe I need to buy pink flowers to motivate him. He can't avoid his past forever and I need lots of help in order to keep this place running._

Glancing up at the sun, I checked to see what the time was.

_Holy shit! It's almost 11:00! I better hurry if I want to complete my medical duties and make it in time to lunch!_

Snatching the empty glass, I hastily got up and sprinted into the Uchiha compound. Once I placed the cup in the sink, I dashed up the stairs and ran into the bedroom without shutting the door. I then ripped off my baggy blue t-shirt and my long tan-colored skirt that I usually wore for cleaning, replacing them with my sleeveless red top and tight-fitting black pants. After zipping it up, I hurriedly put on the black belt that held my medical supplies and weapons and looked at myself in the mirror to do a five-second check-up on my appearance. Noticing that my belt was crooked, I straightened it and turned my back to the mirror to see if the back of the belt was straight. My eyes widened at the white circle that was planted on my back.

_Oh...the Haruno symbol is still on there!...Should I change?.....Agh, forget it, I don't have time!_

I turned my body around so that my front side was facing the mirror. Running my hands through my tangled pink locks, I attempted to comb through my messy shoulder-length hair.

_Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now. Hopefully Sasuke wouldn't mind it too much._

After I grabbed my medical bag, I jogged downstairs, put on my knee-length boots over my dark pants, and sprinted out of the compound.

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The run to the hospital wasn't too bad, except for the few times I had bumped into several civilians, but other than that it only lasted several minutes. After going through the entrance doors of Konoha's hospital, I immediately went up the stairs to head towards my private office. I then carelessly dropped the medical bag beside my desk as I plopped down into my chair, preparing myself for the dreadful upcoming documents. Starting on a pile that hasn't been touched in a week, I grudgingly opened the folder that revealed the medical documents that had to be completed.

_Great…this entire pile will take__** weeks **__to fill out!! Agh! What could be worse than this!!_

A knock on my opened door interrupted my thoughts.

"Umm, excuse me, Sakura-sama."

Glancing up from my work, I gave a small smile to one of my most trusted nurses.

"Good afternoon, Kotoko-san, what can I do for you?"

"Y-Y-You asked me to hold onto any documents you've received from yesterday," The strawberry-blonde nurse nervously replied as she gripped the hem of her uniform, "a-and since I just saw you walk in, I was wondering if you would like to have them now?"

"Of course, could you place them in that pile over here please?"

A look of dreadfulness appeared on the shy nurse's face. I furrowed my eyebrows as my smile slightly fell.

"What's wrong, Kotoko-san," I questioned, concerned by her odd behavior, "are you not feeling well?"

"I-I'm fine, Sakura-sama," The petite nurse quavered as she bit her lip, "b-b-but I think the desk is too full for me to put all of this paperwork on."

Smiling again, I continued filling out the paper I was working on.

"That's alright. Could you please bring all of them in here so I could make another pile for them?"

"Certainly, ma'am."

Now what I expected at this point was to hear the sound of Kotoko's high-heeled shoes clicking down the hall, and that was what I heard at first. What I didn't expect to hear was the sound of the bright-haired nurse's shoes clicking _and _a pair of wheels rolling down the hallway. Once again, I looked up from my work only to gape at a cart full of stacked documents.

"H-Here it is, Sakura-sama…um…do you want me to put it over there?"

Honestly, I really wasn't paying attention to what she said at this point. Sighing, I closed my eyes and propped an elbow on the desk, leaning on my hand to support my head.

_Geez…now I know why Tsunade-shishou drinks more sake than me._

"…Yes, that's fine." I grumbled in despair,"Thank you."

"Anytime, ma'am."

The heels of the young nurse echoed down the hall when she left. Groaning loudly, I let my head slump on the top of my desk, not caring if my forehead formed a bruise from the impact. I stayed in that position for several minutes.

_Oh Sakura! Why the __**hell **__did you agree to become the head medic of this hospital...You could be doing something worthwhile right now, like healing patients....but NOOO...you had to listen to Tsunade and take over her position so she wouldn't have to do any paperwork for the hospital!_

"Well, good morning sunshine!" An overly cheery voice startled me, clearing me from my ranting thoughts, "I didn't expect you to be here at all, especially since it's your day off!"

Lifting my head slightly, I glared at the face of my best friend.

"Awww, what's with the face, _forehead-girl_," teased the purple-attired kunoichi in mock pity, "Were you forced to come here instead of sleeping in with your Sasuke-kun?"

My eye twitched at her comment. Before I could retort, however, I attempted to sit up in my chair.

"As a matter of fact, Ino-_pig_," I hissed while brushing several unkept strands of bubble-gum colored hair out of my face, "I came here on my own free will to get some paperwork done."

"Oh."

An awkward silence filled the room for several seconds.

"So…how was it?"

I blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"How was last night?" Ino asked with a seductive smile while observing my face, "Did you two have any _fun_?"

Realization sunk in as I comprehended the meaning of her words.

"Oh....well," I replied with a straight face while folding my hands underneath my chin, "I'm pretty sure we both had the most _memorable _night in our lives…"

"Really?! Oh Sakura you must tell me what happened! What was he like?! What sort of things did he do?! Did he-"

"Oh Ino, he was absolutely _fantastic_…" My voice lost its dreamy edge as I continued icily, "Actually, he was _forced _to carry me home after I had passed out on him!"

A look of confusion and weariness appeared on Ino's face.

"Huh?...So you two didn't do anything?"

I could no longer control my fiery temper. I suddenly slammed a fist on my desk, slighty cracking it.

"Of course not Ino! Our night was ruined because of _your _stupid antics!"

Ino let out a 'hmph' before she closed her eyes and turned her head to the side.

"Good grief, _billboard brow_! It's not _my _fault that you gulped down _ten _cups of sake! You got_ yourself _into this!"

"Well I wouldn't have been in that mess at all, _Ino-pig_, if _you_ hadn't tried to throw a pity party to get me to drink with you!" I declared loudly as I crossed my arms, "_And _you offered sake to me, knowing that I would willingly accept it!"

"Tell me," I demanded coldly as I leaned back on my chair, "did Sai really call you ugly, or was it an act just to get me drunk so that you could laugh at me today?"

I could tell that my blonde friend was upset.

"Fine! Think whatever you want to Sakura! I was only trying to help you and Sasuke!"

"By getting me _drunk?_!...Oh you've been a_ great_ help Ino!" I shouted furiously with sarcasm, "Everything would have been fine if-"

"No Sakura! Everything wouldn't be fine." Ino interrupted, "It was the only way to get that bastard to show some sign of emotion!"

Now it was my turn to be confused.

"Ino, what are you talking about?"

"Sakura," my best friend stated as she rounded my desk, "You know whenever you're hurt, Sasuke seems to always show up out of nowhere to protect and comfort you."

"Well, yeah," I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at her obvious statement,"He's supposed to. He's my teammate."

"No Sakura...Stop barging in and hear me out!" I shut my mouth and listened to Ino's command, waiting for her to continue, "...You should know by now that Sasuke is a type of man who will never openly express his feelings. He is always cold and indifferent towards me and the other shinobi. The only times I saw him show some sort of emotion were whenever you're concerned, especially when you were in pain!"

The occurrences of this morning popped into my head, starting from when he carried me up the stairs to my shriek from the terrible hangover.

_Oh Kami! Ino is right! He acts all gentle and kind when I'm hurt, but then he goes back to his icy self when he realizes I'm okay...I guess Ino still looks after me, even though I'm twenty-one._

"Think about it Sakura. You _never_ have been on a date with him, you _do not _talk to each other unless it's concerning a mission, and now you're suddenly _married _to him?!...That is not a normal relationship, Sakura. I tried to make you drunk so that Sasuke would maybe express some feelings. And, I wanted you to have a decent wedding night."

I stared into the blue eyes of my friend for several seconds before I gave her one of my soft smiles.

"Ino…I appreciate all that you tried to do for me and Sasuke, but we don't need any pushes in our relationship."

I broke eye contact with Ino and started to fill out the documents on my desk.

"And you've got to realize that the relationship between Sasuke and I is different from the one you have with Sai. Now that Sai's gained some emotion back, he is able to openly express his feelings for you. Sasuke is different from Sai. He _chose_ to keep his feelings hidden, Sai didn't. And if you didn't know, Sasuke shows his love to me in other ways, even when I'm not in danger." I explained calmly, as I scribbled my signature furiously on the paper, "He would sometimes let me sit in his lap whenever we watched the sunset alone together. He took strolls around the village with me. We did a lot of things together, Ino, although I'm pretty sure you wouldn't call these things a 'date', it was close enough for us."

I paused to see if Ino would put in her two cents of my explanation, but she seemed to be concentrating on something else. She must have been ashamed of her actions from yesterday.

"I know it sounds strange, but deep down, Sasuke really does love me, even though he doesn't say it a lot."

"Hmph."

I could imagine a pout appearing across her face.

"Well don't expect me to be your crying shoulder if that man ever hurts you, billboard-brow, you hear me?! I'm not going to look after you like I did at the academy."

I gave her one of my sweetest smiles, trying my hardest to hide my amusement.

_Ino sure hasn't changed much…she is always trying to cover her soft side with that attitude of hers._

For a moment, the only sound that filled the room was the scratching of my pen on the papers. That is, until the blonde spoke again.

"So are you going to spend the whole day cooped up in this little office?"

Without glancing up, I replied, "No, I plan to eat lunch with Naruto and my husband in an hour from now and maybe start training for the ANBU exams later on."

There was no response from the blue-eyed kunoichi, which was very unusual because she usually talks to me non-stop. Glancing up from my work, I stared into the puzzled face of my best friend.

"What's wrong, Ino, you look confused at what I said...It's normal for me to eat with my teammates, I do it all the time." I dropped my pen on the desk and leaned back in the chair before I continued, "And, well, for the training part, I wanted to start early so that I could prepare myself. I mean, the elders haven't released any information about this year's ANBU exams and-."

"You're going to start training _now_?!" My friend sqealed as her face blanched, "Oh Kami Sakura!"

"What? I don't see anything wrong in that."

Ino looked like she was about to hyperventilate.

"Sakura…the ANBU exams start tomorrow."

_To be continued…_

* * *

_**A/N: **_**And now the story starts to unfold...I really don't have anything to say except one thing: the more reviews there are, the faster the update will be.**

**Until next time folks!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **_**Hello again peoples! I don't have much to say except thank you very, very much for the reviews. I really do read every one of them! They're my only inspiration to keep the story going.**o

**Now onto this chapter, enjoy!**

**Oh, and in case you have forgotten:**

**Thoughts:** _I love you._

**Dialogue:** "You love me."

**Normal:** We're a happy family.

* * *

**Flashbacks: 'With a great big hug.' And a kiss from me to you.**

* * *

****

**ANBU**

***

By: twinzees

**

**Chapter Three**

*****

For a moment, there was complete silence throughout the office. Not even the ticking of a clock could be heard. It almost seemed as if time had stopped itself momentarily. Right when I blinked, everything went back in motion. But the serious, concerned expressions that Ino gave me was the only thing I could see.

"Sakura?" Ino whispered softly to me.

I could barely comprehend what she was saying. The only thing that was swimming in my head right now were the words that Ino spoke to me earlier.

* * *

'…**the ANBU exams start tomorrow…'**

* * *

Never in my life have I been so utterly shocked and confused. Usually, I would be the first to know something, especially something like this. Even in my academy and genin years I was always known to be the person who knew everything. At first, reading ahead in my textbook and memorizing scrolls contributed to that, but as I grew older I learned that in order to know something beforehand, you constantly have to keep both your eyes and ears open and pay attention to what is happening around you. When I became Tsunade's apprentice, I've learned to not only do that but to also keep in touch with people who are affiliated with the subject. By the time I became a jounin, I was always one of the first to know any type of information; so this new piece of information about the exams starting tomorrow startled me.

Getting my act together, I closed my eyes and tried to think about how I, the former apprentice of the Godaime, didn't receive any signs or notifications about the exams. Chewing my bottom lip in frustration, I couldn't come up with a single reason why I didn't know about this. I opened my eyes and glared down at my desk filled with scattered documents.

_Something definitely isn't right, and I'm going to figure out._

"Sakura?...Sakura?!" The baby-blue eyed kunoichi shreiked as she shook me, "Snap out of it!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" I cried as I tried to grab the forearms of the female, "I was just thinking!"

My friend finally stopped and stepped back to study my face.

"So, the ANBU exams start tomorrow, huh."

Ino slowly nodded at my blunt statement. Putting my hand on my chin, I got out of my chair and walked towards the window. While I was pondering on how I wasn't notified of the exams, I gazed out at the busy streets of Konoha.

"Ino," I said after several silent moments, "You're taking the exam this year, right?"

"Of course I am. And I thought you were going to take it too...until now."

"How did you find out about the exams?" I questioned as I spun around to face my former rival.

"Well, I didn't exactly _find out," _My friend informed me as she played with her long ponytail, "The information just came to me from a messager bird."

_Ino received it from birds?...So that is a sign right there that Tsunade-sama and the elders wanted to keep the exams a secret. But considering the fact that Konoha didn't have a ton of birds to begin with, they still had decided to send them, which means that only a select few would receive letters. This could only mean that only the strongest and most capable shinobi of Konoha received the information about the ANBU exams._

Sighing, I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my messy pink locks.

_Does that mean I'm considered to be a weak kunoichi?...Am I not strong enough to take the exams? _

Clenching my fists, I opened my eyes as anger and determination flowed through my veins.

_No! There has to be a mistake!...There is no way Konoha would refuse the bright former student of Tsunade...There is no way they could reject one of the shinobis that contributed to the defeat of the Akatsuki organization...And there was no way in __**hell **__that Konoha would leave out Uchiha Sakura, one of the three new recently named sannin._

Controlling my temper, I looked at Ino and made my way to my office door.

_Oohhhh! I'll just have to give them a piece of my mind!_

"Come with me, Ino," I ordered as I strolled towards the door, "I need to talk to Tsunade-sama."

As Ino and I quickly made our way to Tsunade-shishou's office in the hospital, many patients, nurses, and medics cheerfully greeted us; but instead of replying with my usual bright smile, I gave each of them a quick nod. The sounds that our heels were making against the white-tiled floor echoed throughout the hall as Ino and I marched towards the blonde medic's door. Twisting the brass handle, I slammed the frail, wooden door open and heard it bang against the wall as I stormed into the room with Ino close behind me.

"Tsunade-sama!" I bellowed, "I need to speak to you about--."

My anger quickly died down when I realized that there were two other people in the room besides my former teacher. I took in their bloody and battered appearances and glanced into the faces of two barely-alive ANBU.

"Naruto…" I choked out, trying not to gasp at the amount of injuries they carried, "...Sasuke."

Naruto gave me a sheepish smile despite his bruised and bloody face.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" He chirped as he waved at me.

My husband just stared stoically at me with his scratched up face.

"Sakura." He greeted as I rushed up to the pair.

I then took the time to examine every injury they had on their muscular bodies before turning my attention to Sasuke.

"What happened?!" I uttered in concern, "How in the world did you--…"

Realization dawned on me...they were sparring. That has to be the only explanation! Before I knew it, my little temper was back again. Clenching my fists, I shot my husband the scariest glare I could muster.

"Sasuke!" I snapped, looking up at his expressionless face.

_Oohhhh! That man is **so** irritating! I even used a scary tone and the guy's face still remains emotionless!_

"Did you hear a single word that I said this morning?!" I barked as I roughly poked his chest with my index finger.

I didn't give him a chance to speak.

"You didn't, did you?!" I seethed as I straightened up and squared my shoulders, trying my best to loom over his broad figure, which was a failure.

"I understand that you want to train with Naruto, but you don't have to beat him to death!"

After a few moments, I let out a sigh. "Listen," I continued, trying to reason with him, "I don't want either of you ending up at the hospital with a coma because of some stupid spar! And Sasuke, I wish you would listen to me--."

"I did."

I blinked and held a confused expression on my face. "Huh?"

"I did listen to you." My husband stated dully as he kept his dark eyes on me.

Anger licked my insides as I felt my temper flare up even higher than before. I've never been so frustrated with Sasuke in my entire life!

"That's total bullshit and you know it!" I retorted loudly as I raised my head to level my gaze into his scratched up face. "If you heard me, you two wouldn't even be standing here all bloodied up like you just came back from a war! You know what your problem is Sasuke?! You-!"

"Sakura," The spiky-haired nin interrupted as he stared at me with a bored expression, "Stop nagging…it's annoying."

My temper was at its peak now. Taking a step towards my _dear _husband, I maliciously glared into his calm, dark eyes that were centimeters away from mine.

"Well," I stated cooly as I narrowed my eyes dangerously,"if you just _listened _to me in the first place, I wouldn't be _nagging _you out now would I, you son of a--!!"

My words got caught in my throat as I felt something touch the center of my lips. Looking down I realized that Sasuke placed his index finger on my lips to silence me. When I glanced back up, I saw his face leaning closer to mine.

_What…is he doing?_

"Sakura," I heard him whisper, "I did listen to you."

I slapped his hand away and glowered at him.

_Who does he think he is?! Is he trying to play games with me?!_

"What?!" I declared, putting my hands on my hips, "No you didn't! Stop trying to lie to me or I'll--!"

This time, I was interrupted when Sasuke's hand fimly gripped my chin, snapping my jaw shut. I glared at him even harder as he leaned in closer to my face.

"Yes, I did." He insisted as a smirk formed on his lips.

_This guy is really pissing me off!! I'm starting to hate how he stays calm after all of this!_

"I did listen to you Sakura," he continued, "I didn't kill Naruto."

A puzzled expression appeared on my face as he released his hold on my jaw, his position near me, however, remained.

"What?" I muttered in confusion.

I saw a small light twinkle in his eyes before his smirk widened slightly.

"I--didn't--kill--Naruto." My husband stated slowly in an unruffled tone as if he were speaking to a child.

* * *

'**Don't kill each other, okay?'**

* * *

Scowling, I clenched my fists at my sides and resisted the urge to slam him through the floors of the hospital.

"Well!" I retorted loudly while trying to think of a good comeback, "You…you...!"

Before anything else could be said, my former mentor cleared her throat before barking, "Sakura,...Uchiha, that's enough! There are more important matters to attend to!"

Straightening up, I crossed my arms across my chest and sharply jerked my head to the side.

_I could still sense that damn smirk on his face! What a cocky bastard!_

"Naruto, Sasuke, we'll discuss this later." Tsunade said, "Right now you two need to be patched up…Ino, please take these gentleman to room 306 and start healing them."

"Yes, milady."

Turning my gaze to Tsunade, I noticed that the pig-tailed woman was observing me through her gorgeous hazel-brown eyes. After I heard the footsteps leave the room and the door shut quietly, Tsunade cleared her throat and linked her hands together and put them underneath her chin. "Now Sakura, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

Taking a deep breath, I gazed bravely at my former teacher and replied, "It's about the ANBU exams."

"What about them?"

"I...," I hesitated, thinking on how to state it, "I want to know the reason why you and the elders didn't qualify me for the exams."

Tsunade's expression became puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" She answered, lifting her head from her intertwined hands, "We did qualify you...Have you received anything from a messenger hawk in the past month?"

When I shook my head, the busty hokage sighed and leaned back in her chair. Crossing her arms, the medic stared blankly at the parchment that was in front of her. "That's odd. Nothing like this usually happens."

It was eerily silent throughout the room for several moments before the Godaime spoke again, "Are you sure you didn't receive any form of writing, any letters, signs.....packages, that were addressed to you?"

I stayed silent and stared at nothing in particular as I racked my brain to remember every letter in the mail that was addressed to me in the past month. The only mail I had received consisted of junk mail and advertisements and possibly a letter from Temari-san in Suna. Other than that, I really couldn't think of anything that could have been my ANBU registration letter.

"Hey Tsunade-sama, do you think someone could have intercepted my letter?"

Her answer was immediate.

"I highly doubt it." Tsunade-shishou paused for a second when she opened the bottom drawer of her desk to take out a stack of papers. "The birds that gave out the registration forms are special: they were trained to not come back to the tower until they dropped the forms into the hands of the person they were assigned."

I contemplated on this for a few minutes before I stated, "Is it possible that maybe the bird that had my letter misunderstood someone else for me and gave my letter to him instead?"

"Well, that's possible, but I highly doubt it." My former master replied,"The trainers made sure that these birds knew their assigned person."

I sighed as I stared down at my boots, running out of ideas.

"Now let's see," muttered my former mentor as she skimmed through the stack of papers she took out, "it says here that the messenger bird assigned to you returned safely…so _if _somebody took your papers, it would be possible that he tried to hide the fact that he did."

I looked up at her with my full attention, "But what if it did happen? And who do you think would do something like that?"

"I have no idea," She admitted as she crossed her arms, "…but the thug who had the guts to take it must know a lot about the messaging system in Konoha."

I pouted and placed a hand on my face to massage my temples, "Great…so that person who stole my papers is now taking my place in the exams."

"Well, not really, now that I know you didn't receive it, I'm sure that the elders and I would keep an eye out for that…_imposter_."

"Thank you," I said with a little smile, "and is it too late for me to sign up for the exams?"

The brown-eyed medic let out a long sigh before she replied, "I'm sorry Sakura, the due date for registrations was about a week ago."

My face fell at her words.

_Oh no! I have to wait another year for the next ANBU exams?! Now I have to face the teasings from Ino and all my other friends!_

"However," my former teacher continued as she turned back to her work, "I could make an exception for you since this entire mess wasn't your fault."

My face lit up with joy and I was about to embrace the blonde medic but a stack of papers was shoved harshly in my face, preventing me from doing so.

"Now fill these out and give them to me sometime today."

After taking the papers, I bowed slightly to the hokage and thanked her. Before I left though, she stopped me, "Sakura!" The only thing I could do was turn around. "Don't think that I let you take these exams because you were my best apprentice,"

I shot the blonde kunoichi a puzzled look. After all, what other reason, other than me being her favorite student, could my former teacher come up with for letting me take the exams?

"I'm letting you take these exams because I think you're a capable kunoichi, therefore, you better not fail me…Remember that Sakura."

Nodding to the aging female, I shot her a pretty smile.

"I will, Tsunade-shishou."

With that said, I left her office by closing the door, not missing the small smile she gave me before I left. Excitement bubbled in me as I looked at the registration forms in my hands.

_Oh Kami my dreams are about to be fulfilled! I'm taking the ANBU exams! Woohoo!_

I tried with all my might not to skip down the halls, but I was too excited to walk slowly; so a fast power walk finally settled on my legs.

_I can't wait until Ino finds out about this!...Hehe she is gonna be so jealous when she finds out about how easily Tsunade-sama let me slide through this! I can't wait to tell Sasuke and Naruto about entering the ANBU exams!...Finally, we'll be in the same rank again! Hehe! I can't wait to see their reactions._

I turned a corner and hurriedly walked towards room 306, the place where Ino was probably healing my teammates. Gripping my ANBU registration papers tightly, I took in a deep breath and was about to declare my great announcement before a pair of voices stopped me.

"-I can't believe you're doing this to her, teme! She's a full-grown woman, not some kind of child! She can make her own decisions!"

I paused and hid behind the door, hiding my chakra in order to listen to what Naruto was saying.

_Was he talking about me?_

"She is my wife, and as the head of the Uchiha clan I have the right to enforce what she can or can't do!"

_What is he talking about?!_

"Sasuke, you know Sakura-chan has been dying to take the exams for the past two years! She couldn't take it last year because she had to take some medical exam instead! Why aren't you letting her take it this year?"

A small hint of betrayal stung my heart, but the feeling temporarily disappeared when anger boiled throughout my body.

_So…__**he's**__ the one who stole my registration letters! How dare he! Just because he's my husband doesn't mean--…_

"I told you, dobe....You and I both know that there's a very high death rate in ANBU. She's not fit to be at this level."

"C'mon Sasuke, you know Sakura-chan. She is strong and independent. She can take care of herself."

"..."

"You know that she doesn't like people controlling her life-…"

_Damn straight!_

"…What if she finds out about the ANBU exams and signs up for them?"

"...She won't."

"What?"

"I personally made sure her messenger hawk sent her forms to me."

"So she has no idea about it?"

"No."

"I think you're making a mistake."

".......It's for the best."

"..."

"..."

"…Heh…She'll be beyond pissed if she finds out! You're probably going to have to move to my house! "

I had the hardest time controlling my temper. Naruto wasn't exaggerating when he said how furious I was going to be. However, he didn't predict the aching feeling I had in my chest.

_How could you Sasuke! You could have at least said something to me earlier about your uneasiness with me in the ANBU!...But you try to hide everything from me by deceiving me instead…We're married now! A couple would have talked to each other about their feelings! They would have faith in each other about the decisions they make....I know we're not a normal couple…...I know we do not talk to each other a lot......I __**thought**__ our relationship was based on the trust we had in one another…But now I know I'm wrong…_…

_**I'm**_

_**so**_

_**disappointed**_

_**in**_

_**you.**_

_Maybe this is a good thing. This shows how much you don't trust me to make decisions and defend for myself…_

_**I**_

**_can't_**

**_trust_**

**_you_**

**_anymore._**

_But that's okay._

"I still don't like the idea of you keeping stuff from Sakura-chan, and how do you know that she hadn't already signed up for the exams and not tell you?"

_Because I'll be deceiving you too._

"The signups ended last week, dobe. I also saw the list of every person who had signed up. She won't be taking those exams this year."

I folded my registration forms and tucked them into the pockets of my pants, making sure everything was covered.

"But Sasuke-tem-!"

"Not a word escapes this room, you understand!"

"Yeah, but-"

I raised my hand and knocked gently on the door. There was an awkward pause in the room before Naruto piped up and said "Come in" with his usual loud and cheery voice. Opening the door, I stepped into the room and acted as if I hadn't heard a word. I blinked in surprise and frowned at their still bloody-appearances.

"What in the world did Ino do? I thought Tsunade told her to heal you two." I turned my frown towards Naruto.

"She was about to start, Sakura-chan, but another nurse came by and told her that there was an emergency in another room and that she need her assistance."

Nodding my head, I walked briskly across the white room towards Naruto, ignoring Sasuke's chilling stare as I concentrated on the clicking-sounds my heels were making against the tiled floor.

"Well Naruto," I said, trying to make my voice sound as normal as possible, "Since you seem to be in worse condition, I'll start with-"

"What! My injuries aren't as bad as Sasuke-teme's! Treat him first Sakura-chan! He's more injured than me!"

"Naruto!" I exclaimed harshly, "Your wounds are deeper than Sasuke's and you're still bleeding! If you don't let me treat you now then-"

"Oh don't worry about me Sakura-chan, I'm fine! I just got a few scratches from teme because he had to cheat by using that blasted-"

"Naruto!" I yelled with clenched teeth, "Gear off! Now!"

The future Rokudaime did what I told him to do without hesitation. I scanned through Naruto's naked torso, taking in every serious injury that needed to be healed first. Concentrating on sending chakra to my fingertips, I placed my hand around a particularly nasty-looking wound that was on his broad shoulder before the bright green healing chakra appeared around my hand. I tried to shut out every distraction around me in order to concentrate on regenerating the skin and tissue cells, but the conversation between my husband and Naruto kept popping up.

_**Do**_

**_you _**

**_still_**

**_think_**

**_I'm_**

**_weak?_**

"…Sakura."

The deep, husky voice of my husband interrupted my silent musings and I turned around to glare at him.

"What?!" I uttered coldly, annoyed that he had the guts to speak to me after what he did.

"I think you healed Naruto long enough."

Turning back around, I glanced at the cerulean-eyed ANBU and saw that his entire body, including his face, was healed.

_Did I zone out that long?_

Halting my flow of chakra to my hand, I removed my hand off his body and slowly walked over to the sink to grab a washcloth. After rinsing off my hands, I put the white cloth underneath the water faucet and wrung it out until it was damp. I strode to where Naruto was sitting and started to wipe the blood off his face with the wet washcloth.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" asked a concerned Naruto, "You seem out of it."

Without glancing at him, I finished wiping off the blood and stood up to wash out the rag.

"I'm fine."

After I made sure the white cloth was mostly rinsed out, I threw the rag in the laundry bag on the side of the counter and slowly turned around to gaze at my husband. His endless, deep pools of onyx caught my bright viridian orbs as I observed his face for the first time in this room. Taking soft strides toward him, I tried to cover up my emotions about his earlier scheme and attempted to think of him as another patient.

"Your turn."

_To be continued…_

* * *

_**A/N:**_** Hehe! I know this story is going kinda slow; but trust me that's what makes stories good. I'm trying to build the plot and so far everything's going according to plan.*rubs hands together***

**For those of you who expected an update for **_**The Life of a Queen**_**, I'm sorry. (Truly, I am) My sister has been really slow and lazy lately and I'm encouraging her to continue writing as much as I can. Also, I don't think it's fair for readers of my story to wait because of her, so I posted up this chapter.**

**Anyhoos, please keep reviewing! It's the only motivation for this story. I will accept any questions, comments, concerns, and even criticism if you see anything wrong.**

**OK! Now that everything's covered, see ya'll in the next chapter!**

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_** Gah! I can't believe its August already! T-T Oh well, I won't let that depress me because **_**Breaking Dawn **_**and the second Naruto Shippuden movie FINALLY came out! (Whoohoo!)**

**Okie dokie, this chapter is dedicated to those of you who reviewed in the last chapter! Enjoy!**

**Err…you might need to know this…**

**Thoughts: **_La La La._

**Dialogue: "**La La La."

**Normal: **La La La.

* * *

****

**ANBU**

***

By: twinzees

**

**Chapter Four**

*****

As I made my way across the room to my husband, I tried my best to keep an emotionless façade. The ANBU captain's obsidian orbs drifted toward my face as he shifted from the chair to the patient table. Before I could tell him to do so, he quietly took off his gear, which exposed his toned muscles that rippled out from his black undershirt. I briefly glanced over various cuts and bruises scattered across his chest, trying my best to control my blush despite the anger I felt toward him.

_What a hunk!...No, wait...bad thought, bad thought! Okay Sakura get real! He is the man who is preventing you from joining the ANBU! Concentrate on healing him and nothing else!_

Inhaling deeply, I took several strides toward him until I was completely in front of him and released a breath that I subconsciously held.

_Breathe in…breathe out…Breathe in…breathe out…Now chant: Thou shall not think about naughty things._

I concentrated the flow of my chakra to my fingertips until a soft green light surrounded my hand. When I felt his dark orbs peering into my face, I tried my best to glue my eyes down on the cuts I was healing.

_Thou shall not think about naughty things..._

While I subconsciously concentrated on recreating damaged cells and tissues, my mind wandered off again to my husband.

_How could he do such a thing?! He knows I can protect myself! I'm one of the best kunoichi in Konoha! I know I don't have the nine-tailed fox sealed inside of me, and I don't have a special kekkei genkai. But I do have medical skills and the ability to crush mountains with my fist! He has no right to do that to me! That letter was addressed to me only!! It was my decision, not his, to choose whether or not I should participate in the ANBU exams!_

"Sakura."

My husband's calm voice snapped me out of my quiet ramblings. Clenching my jaw, I attempted to keep my face as neutral as possible. I tried not to look into his coal-black eyes when I repositioned my glowing hand on his lower jaw.

"Hmmm?"

"Look at me." My husband demanded with his deep voice.

At that moment, my fiery olive-green eyes snapped up to meet his endless onyx orbs. Even with my current disgust at him, I still somehow managed to muster up enough courage to keep calm and face his handsome face without beating him senseless. For several seconds, I stared into his beautiful eyes and tried to study him in order to read his thoughts. Of course, it was always a pointless effort. Usually I could never tell what he was thinking.

After several more seconds of observing each other, the Uchiha prodigy finally spoke up.

"You're angry."

_Oh no! Does he know that I overheard his conversation with Naruto?_

I silently cursed the heavens for his ability to read me like an open book. Ignoring his statement, I broke eye contact with him and continued to now heal his cheekbones.

"Aw c'mon, Sakura-chan!" Naruto interjected, "We were just sparring! Don't be mad at Sasuke, he's just being an ass because he got clobbered by me!"

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled, "Says the person who lost all three rounds."

"Shut up, teme!"

Ignoring their bickering, I halted my healing technique and headed toward the medical cabinet.

_So they think I'm still angry over that? Well, I guess that's a good thing because if they dare mention an_y_thing about those exams right now, I'll lose it and punch them through the floors of this hospital!_

"Agh! I really didn't mean to upset you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly apologized as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand, "I'm sorry. And I'm sure Sasuke-teme's sorry, too!"

I _almost_ snorted at Naruto's statement.

"Hmph!" I sniffed as I grabbed a clean washrag and rinsed it under the sink.

"I promise we won't do it again!" Naruto pleaded as he clasped his hands together.

I let out a sigh and turned off the water faucet.

_I shouldn't be angry with Naruto. He's just trying to cheer me up._

"Alright…I forgive you." I stated while wringing the rag to get rid of the excess water.

I then turned around and walked back to where my husband was, trying my best to keep a neutral face.

_But I won't forgive you so easily, Sasuke!_

"Great!" Naruto squawked as I cleaned the blood off of Sasuke's face, "We should head over to Ichiraku's now! And don't worry, it's all on me!"

I felt the corners of my mouth turn slightly upward. It's strange, even when I'm in my worst moods, Naruto could still find some way to cheer me up.

**

* * *

**

The walk to the Ichiraku ramen stand was surprisingly silent, if you didn't count Naruto's ramblings about what kind of ramen he was going to get. Right now, the future Rokudaime, who was approximately ten feet ahead of me, was so excited he was practically skipping. I glanced at Sasuke, who was walking next to me, to see if he was irritated by Naruto's childish antics. Normally, by now, the ex-avenger would be scolding his "best friend" and telling me how much of a loser he was. To my surprise, the dark-haired ANBU captain only stared through the skipping blonde-haired adult as if he didn't exist. It was my turn to stare at him.

_He is acting weird today._

My mind hesitated at that thought. Then again, maybe he wasn't the one that was acting strangely. After all, I'm usually the one that talked to him whenever we went out together. So with me being silent, the anti-social prodigy had no desire to communicate with me…well…unless he had a demand or a reminder.

"Sakura." My husband muttered as his charcoal-colored eyes shifted down to glance at me, "I thought we agreed that you would get rid of the Haruno clan shirts."

_Ladies and Gents., there's the reminder. See? What did I tell you? _

I looked at him with slight confusion until it dawned on me: I was in so much of a hurry this morning I forgot to put on my _only_ shirt that contained the Uchiha symbol.

_...Crud…_

"Get rid of it, now." My husband ordered as he turned his gaze back in front of him.

_And there's the demand._

I shot the raven-haired Uchiha a nasty look. "You insensitive jerk! Did you really expect me to wear that one Uchiha shirt for weeks?!" I bellowed as I crossed my arms, "And now you want me to take my shirt off in public because I'm not wearing what you want me to wear?! Tch. You're such a pervert. You're worse than Naruto."

I heard Sasuke growl at my statement. I was attacking his egotistical male pride. Taking my gaze away from his slightly irritated face, I closed my eyes and smiled to myself, satisfied with my remark.

"_Unlike_ you and Naruto, I have enough dignity to not strip whenever a passerby comes near the training area. _And_, unlike you and Naruto, I don't have to boost my ego and show off my macho muscles-…"

A peculiar sound interrupted my rant. Something was not right because what I heard was the sound of a small chuckle escape from the sexy ANBU captain. And believe me, Sasuke _rarely_ chuckles, so something was definitely amiss. I opened my eyes to look into his amused dark orbs.

"That's funny," Sasuke stated as his annoyed frown turned into a smirk, "Because you didn't seem to have a problem shredding off your clothes during our training session with the other jounin last week."

A dark red shade, almost matching the color of my shirt, appeared over my cheeks. "T-That's a different matter!" I squeaked, trying to contain my deepening crimson blush. "It was hot that day, and I was wearing black!"

The Uchiha gave me a pointed look. "It was raining, Sakura."

"Well, it was still hot and you had to--!"

Before I could finish my retort, my husband's smirking face disappeared behind one of the hanging white curtains that he flipped over his head. Staring in disbelief at his actions, I looked up at the red kanji on the pieces of cloth and realized that I was standing in front of the Ichiraku ramen stand. I was so focused on that argument, I didn't even realize that we had arrived here. My left eye twitched in annoyance as I hastily flipped the curtain over my shoulder and stomped into the ramen stand.

"Ah! There she is!" A very cheerful, feminine voice exclaimed. Looking up at the sound of the familiar voice, I let my frustration slip aside and gave the woman a bright smile, "Good afternoon, Ayame-san! How are you today?"

The brunette smiled back at me as she replied, "Oh I'm fine Sakura-san," The dark-eyed female's smile widened slightly, "or should I say…Uchiha-kyou?"

I smiled warmly at the cook's daughter. "Sakura is just fine Ayame-san. You've known me forever, so there's no need for formalities." Teuchi's daughter flashed me another smile as I made my way to my usual seat, which was in-between Sasuke and Naruto. Unfortunately, my husband was sitting directly next to Naruto, so there was no way I could sit in-between them. I felt my irritation rise again at my husband.

_He knows it's tradition for Team 7's only female to sit in the middle seat at Ichiraku's! He's doing this on purpose!_

As if sensing my frustration, my handsome spouse tilted his head back over his shoulder to look at me. He must have known that I was disturbed with the seating arrangements because I saw a barely visible upturn appear on the corner of his perfect lips.

_That asshole! Does he enjoy teasing me?! Well he won't get away with this! Especially after what he's done to me for the exams!_

Striding confidently in-between the two boys, I ignored Sasuke's stare and, with all my strength, butted my husband to my left by using my hip. I smiled to myself in amusement and watched the dark-haired shinobi grab the counter to stop him from falling. He effortlessly pulled himself up to the seat next to me, trying to gain back his dignity. Sitting prissily in my newly acquired seat, I glanced into Sasuke's furious glare and smiled back at him, sticking my tongue out at him in the process.

_Yeah I know, immature, but he deserved it!_

Putting my tongue back in my mouth, I sat in my seat and gave my husband a sweet smile while he gave me his famous glare.

"Sakura-san," Ayame suddenly chirped, "What would you like…the usual?"

Taking my attention off my spouse, I nodded to the brunette and watched her help her father, who was conversing with Naruto.

"So where's your wife Naruto? She usually comes with you." Teuchi questioned as he was stirring up something that was probably part of our lunch.

"Hinata-chan's training at her family's compound," Naruto replied in his usual loud voice, "She wants to put in some last minute training for the AN-errr…um…uh."

I narrowed my eyes at Naruto's statement, pretending not to know anything about what the yellow-haired shinobi had just mentioned. In reality, I knew exactly what Naruto was going to say. I wasn't stupid, I knew he was talking about the ANBU exams.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear the end of that, Naruto." The elder ramen cook stated. I could feel the cold tension of Sasuke's glare penetrate through me and land on Naruto's nervous form.

"Well, you see, um…," Started a blanched Naruto after taking one glance at Sasuke and me. "Uh…"

_Naruto is failing miserably._

"Hinata-chan's training, well she's training for an…er."

"An S-ranked mission." Everyone's attention, including mine, turned to my husband.

"An S-ranked mission?!" exclaimed Ayame excitedly, "Oh dear, I hope she isn't going alone!" Sasuke shook his head at her statement. "No. Naruto and I are accompanying her in this mission."

The gullible woman let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness! I'm glad she's got two of the three newly-claimed sannin coming with her."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at my husband's clever save.

_You won't fool me Sasuke! This is just a cover-up for the exams! Why should I trust you after what you did to me?!_

Not liking the outcome of this, I thought of possible ways to squeeze the information about the ANBU exams from my husband. This was one of the very few chances I could talk about it without sounding suspicious, and I knew I had to think up of something fast or the entire subject would drop immediately.

"So," I started, trying to grab the attention of my dark-haired teammate, "Where are you going? What is your mission?"

"Like I said," My _brilliant _spouse replied in his normal, mesmerizing tone that every woman desired. "This is an S-rank mission, so the details must be kept secret."

_What a bunch of crap!_

"So when are you leaving?" I asked Sasuke, trying to sound as casual as possible. It wasn't unusual for Sasuke and Naruto to go on missions without me.

My husband looked at me briefly before he replied, "Tonight." I turned back forward and stared at the counter in front of me.

_So if they're leaving tonight instead of tomorrow, the exams must be held in one of the countries surrounding the Fire country. Well that explains another factor of how most Konoha civilians don't know about the exams._

"Two miso ramens and a pork ramen!" exclaimed the cook before lacing the large bowls in front of us. "Enjoy!"

"Oh boy!" shouted Naruto as he grabbed a pair of chopsticks. "Thanks a lot!" The future Rokudaime immediately started to dig in by stuffing mouthfuls of ramen noodles into his mouth.

"Naruto!" I cried, still horrified to this day about his terrible eating habits. "Slow down! You're going to choke!" The ramen-lover stopped his slurping sounds and turned to look at me with a ton of noodles hanging out his mouth.

"What did I say to you about this? What about all the lessons I taught you about table manners?" My blue-eyed friend slurped up the rest of the noodles hanging out of his mouth. I resisted a cringe.

"Well Hinata-chan's not here right now," stated a grinning Naruto, "so there's no need to do it." I wanted to slap a hand on my face, realizing at this point, arguing with Naruto would be pointless. The boy would never change his disgusting habits. Naruto turned back to his own bowl and started to literally inhale it as I took my own chopsticks and started to eat my own food slowly.

As I ate, I observed everyone around me: Sasuke was enjoying his own ramen in silence, Ayame and her father were making more ramen for future customers, and Naruto, well, everyone knew what Naruto was doing.

After we were done eating, Ayame took away our bowls and thanked us for coming. Naruto was the first one to get up. "Hey Naruto!" I cried before he walked out of the stand, "Hold up! You promised that you would pay for this!"

The fourth's son slowly turned around, put an arm behind his head, and sheepishly replied, "Oh yeah…about that…" The blonde-haired ANBU captain looked at the owners of the ramen stand before saying, "Ayame-chan…Teuchi-san."

The said persons paused what they were doing and gazed at their number one customer. "Oh, that's right!" exclaimed the brunette, "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha, as a gift for your recent marriage to one another, my father and I wanted to give you a free meal; under Naruto-san's request of course."

_Why that dirty little…_

Remembering my manners, I quickly bowed to the Ichiraku ramen stand staff and muttered a quick 'thank you' before grabbing Naruto in the collar and jerking him towards me so I could give him a piece of my mind.

"Naruto, you little sneak!" I snarled as I harshly shook his form, "You said this was all on you! Do you-!"

Before I could finish, there was a slight popping sound and the area where the blonde shinobi was at was covered in smoke. Looking at my hands, I realized that I was holding a log in Naruto's place.

"Dammit!" I cursed, "Naruto you imbecile! Come back here! Ugh! I don't have time for this! I have to go back to the hospital!" I felt someone's large hand land on my shoulder and I looked up into my husband's beautiful obsidian orbs.

"I'll get him." I heard him mutter before he walked briskly out of the ramen stand.

"Wait!" I cried, rushing outside before he could take off, "Don't go!" When I grasped his wrist with my hand, his head snapped around to gaze at me. For a moment, I was startled by the blazing redness that took over his deep, black orbs. For a second, I thought his deadly eyes had a flash of bloodlust, but then I realized that his bloodline ability made him naturally look this way.

_The sharingan..._

"Don't hurt him too much," I muttered, recovering from the fright his terrifying eyes gave me, "I better not see both of you at the hospital again."

My husband smirked at my concern, "Don't worry, I'm just going to teach that dobe a lesson." With that, my handsome spouse took off and was gone within a blink of the eye. Taking out my ANBU registration papers from my back pocket, I smirked to myself and headed back towards the hospital.

"I think it's you who needs to be taught a lesson, Sasuke." I murmured outloud. "This is my oneway ticket to backfire your plans."

_It's also the only way to prove to you my capability..._

_To be continued…_

* * *

_**A/N: **_**Woohoo! That's finally over! I've spent hours trying to come up with some scenes at Ichiraku's and all I've come up with was some lame crap…Sorry guys…**

**Well I've got good news and bad news; which would you like to hear first?? Haha, well I guess it doesn't matter because you're probably going to read both of them anyways. **

**Alrighty, the bad news is that September is coming up and that's gonna be a busy month for me and my sis, so updates won't be as frequent (heh, I know some of you are thinking 'che…as if they are frequent now'. But hey, I'm talking about **_**maybe**_** not updating for several months, so I guess updating once every three to four weeks is more frequent than every 3 months, right?). **

**Okay, the good news is that my sista FINALLY, yes FINALLY, finished her 2nd chapter and will be updating soon (Yay!). Now I just have to get her to type it up and everything will be **

**Don't forget to review!;D The next chapter would be dedicated to whomever submits the 30th review!**

**Until next time, Ja ne!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **_**Hello again peeps! Yep I know, I updated within the past week (hehehehe NOOOOTTTT)! **

**Alrighty, I would like to congratulate **_**LonelyUniverse **_**for being my 30th reviewer (Woohoo)! Thank you so much! This chapter is entirely dedicated to you!:) Enjoy!**

**For the rest of you who reviewed: Thank you very much for your dedication and support! It really keeps my spirit up!:D**

**Ok enough blabbering for now, enjoy!**

**More reminders:**

**Thoughts: **_Congrats LonelyUniverse!_

**Dialogue: **"Congrats LonelyUniverse!"

**Normal: **Congrats LonelyUniverse!

* * *

****

**ANBU**

***

By: twinzees

**

**Chapter Five**

*****

Other than filling out paperwork, there was one other downside about being the head medic of Konoha Hospital.

Can you guess what it is?

Come on, I know you can! Even academy students with mental disabilities can figure this out!

I mean, it's not that difficult; all you have to do is use your brain!

Anyone can do it!...

…

…

Well…

…

…

Except for Naruto,…

…

And maybe Sasuke too after what he's done recently.

But come on, three guesses…and no it's not the boiling sun rays glaring on my back through the window, nor is it the overwhelming stuffiness in the room from the rusty air vent that hasn't been cleaned for Kami knows how long. And it is definitely not the annoying ticking sounds the clock on the wall was making, knowing it was probably made when the First Hokage was alive.

Ok…That's three, guessing time's up.

Two words…

…

…

…

NO PRIVACY!

All I am trying to do is fill out these registration forms for the ANBU exams (which I dare say should only take about five minutes, but it's lasting an hour!) but people just keep barging in to either dump papers on me or to ask questions about how to treat such and such.

"Ugh! This is so nerve-racking," I fumed trying not to pull my hair out, "I don't remember reading something that said 'no privacy guaranteed' in my job description!"

A knock on my door echoed suddenly throughout the tiny room, halting me from venting off my unenthusiastic thoughts. Silently growling, I shoved the signup sheets hastily into one of my desk drawers and got up to answer the door. The person who was at my door must have been desperate to reach me because he knocked harder, causing my door to shake from the force.

"Alright, I'm coming!" I snapped, irritated at whoever was behind that wooden door.

_I'm in a bad mood. Whoever's behind that door better have a good reason for interrupting me!_

Grasping the handle, I flung the door open and opened my mouth to chew out the impatient hoolagig, but the sight of the familiar kunoichi before me stopped me.

"Sakura-neechan!" exclaimed the bright, cheerful young woman, who was carrying a pile of thick, heavy medical books in her arms, "I'm done with these books. Where do you want me to put them?"

Letting my previous anger slip away, I led the 17-year-old to my desk and made room for the massive textbooks.

"Right here, Moegi-chan." I said, patting the cleared area.

"Stop calling me Moegi-chan! I'm not a little girl anymore!" ordered the cute medic as she wrinkled her nose.

I laughed out loud at her demand.

_It's so amusing how similar Moegi and I are. She is acting exactly the same way I use to act around my mentor whenever she teased me with nicknames…I wonder if Tsunade-sama thought the same thing about me when I was under her tutelage._

Pushing those thoughts aside, I looked down and smirked tauntingly at the younger medic, "I'll stop calling you Moegi-chan the day you start addressing me as Sakura-sama."

The girl's face turned into a frown, "But that title makes you seem so _old_! And you're not that much older than me, so Sakura-neechan is perfect!"

My smile widened slightly, "Well, you're barely four years younger than me, so Moegi-chan suits you fine, too."

The kunoichi snorted and dropped the topic, knowing that she couldn't win in any argument against me. After placing the heavy books on the part of the desk that I cleared for her, the energetic teenager put both her hands behind her back and declared innocently with her sweet little voice, "Can you teach me that jutsu now? I've been dying to try it!"

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared into the younger kunoichi's dark eyes, pondering over whether or not I should allow my newly acquired apprentice to perform such a technique. As I thought about it, the bubbly female squirmed uneasily under my gaze, tugging on one of her thick orange pigtails that hung over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I started, trying to find the right words to say in order not to hurt her feelings, "but I believe it's too early for you to start that technique."

My apprentice looked devastated.

"What?!" She exclaimed as her natural-blushed cheeks reddened even more, "Why not?!"

"You need to have precise chakra control when performing this jutsu. Without it, you could harm the patient."

The bright-haired chuunin looked down at her feet, trying her best to hide her disappointed expression.

"But I've studied every one of those books and healed everything you've assigned me."

I sighed and leaned against my desk before stating gently, "I know you did, Moegi-chan, and you're very talented. Your medical skills have improved a lot in the past year you've been with me."

Moegi glanced up at my face, taking in my cheerful compliment.

"But," I continued, trying my best to teach my pupil without destroying her confidence, "You can't just rush into more advanced techniques without learning and mastering the basics…For instance, I had noticed during the past few healing sessions that you've focused more chakra than normal to your fingertips rather than your palm to speed up the healing process."

My student nodded at my statement. "That was an excellent tactic, Moegi-chan, but you weren't ready for that technique…Your patients would heal quicker if you had used the beginner's technique, which would help you better in chakra control. Also, when you used the more advanced technique, you wasted chakra—and wasting chakra is the worst thing you can do as a medic."

The orange-haired girl stared wide-eyed at me, as if something clicked within her mind. "So that's why you made me study three books about chakra control!"

I nodded my head and smiled at her astonished expression. "Now run along, I've got work to do," I stated, waving my hand back and forth to shoo her away, "Go to Shizune and ask her for more animals to practice on."

Before quickly walking out of my room and shutting the door behind her, my energetic apprentice bowed her head slightly and said, "I will, Sakura-neechan."

When I heard her footsteps disappear down the hall, I walked around my desk, sat in my chair, and opened the drawer that held my ANBU papers. Frowning at the wrinkles formed when I had shoved them into the drawer carelessly, I smoothed the forms out on my desk and continued to fill them out.

So far, I've completed the personal information section, which included stats like my name age, ninja registration number, esperience (D-ranked, C-ranked, B-ranked, A-ranked, S-ranked missons), etc. Now I only have to sign some agreement statement that says that "Konoha or any other shinobi village isn't responsible for any deaths or injuries during the exams…yada-yada-yada." It's the same boring old sentence that I had to agree to when I took both the chuunin and jonin exams.

Flipping the page, I reread the paragraph-long warning statement and was about to sign my signature, but something red caught my eye. Looking at the red marks under the signature line, I realized that they weren't part of the application. Instead, it seemed as if it was hastily added there by someone. Squinting my eyes, I tried to read what the writing said, and after several kanji, I realized this was Tsunade-sama's handwriting.

**Due to the location of these exams, the chances of survival is around 40 percent. For those of you who are under 25-years-old or don't have much experience, I strongly recommend you to wait for next year's exam if you value your lives.**

I stared at the statement, slightly horrified at the remark.

_40 percent survival rate!? That's terrible!!...Where in Kami's name are these exams located!?_

I searched the papers for the location but I couldn't find one. I don't know if I should take these exams or not, I mean, I don't have much experience, and I haven't trained for it so…

My thoughts landed on the people who are taking these exams…Ino, and probably Hinata, too…If they pass these exams, I'll be the only person in the Konoha 12 group who is still a jonin!

My thoughts then landed on Sasuke…

_NO!... I'm going to take these exams no matter how risky they are! I am not going to back down and satisfy my husband! I will not succumb to his wishes! I am not weak anymore!_

Taking a deep breath, I pushed my controversial thought to the back of my head and signed my name on the blank agreement line. Releasing my held breath, I stared at the forms in front of me. Even though I wanted to take those exams now, I wish I had been informed of this several weeks earlier because I haven't physically trained for a while due to hospital shifts and wedding preparations. Letting out another sigh, I glanced around the room and stared pointedly at the overflowing piles of hospital paperwork that needed to be completed.

_There is no way I can get these done today, and let alone get some training in…Oh well, I guess I should get started now…Moping like this won't help anything! _

Before I could grab one of the many stacks of documents, the door to my room burst open and banged against my thin wall.

"Ah, Sakura!" chirped Ino as she started making her way towards me, "I had a feeling you would be here."

Recovering from my little shock from Ino's sudden entrance, I placed both my arms over my registration forms as casually as possible to hide them from my friend.

"Don't you know how to knock?!" I seethed, shooting my friend a cold glare.

"What are you doing?" questioned the long-haired blonde, while shooting me a smile that I didn't like.

Thinking quickly, I replied, "Oh…nothing much. I'm just trying to get all this paperwork done."

"Uh-huh," muttered the blonde as she stopped in front of my desk, "So tell me…what happened after I left Tsunade-sama's office? Was she able to get you in?"

Inwardly I grimaced. I had really hoped that she wouldn't bring that topic up.

_Oh well, I guess it can't be avoided now…_

Letting out a sigh of defeat, I uncrossed my arms and showed the registration forms to Ino.

"Does this answer everything?" I mumbled, trying not to be sarcastic with my friend.

Ino's icy blue eyes widened slightly when she recognized the papers and her smile widened. Letting out a cry of joy, my former rival clasped her hands together and bellowed, "Oh Sakura! I'm so excited for you! Now we get to take the AN-mmphfff!"

"Be quiet!" I hissed as I kept my hand clamped over her mouth. After a few seconds, I released my hard grip around her mouth. I rushed to my office door and glanced in both directions of the hallway. When everything was clear, I shut the door and turned around sharply to face the puzzled face of the flower-loving kunoichi.

"Okay," I started in a low voice, walking slowly towards her, "you must not tell anyone that I'm taking the ANBU exams, understand?"

Ino nodded her head in agreement, but her face still held a confused expression, "Alright, I won't…But why?...This is an important event for you,"

I let out a long sigh and stared hard into Ino's curious face. After listening for any footsteps nearing my office and surveying the area around me for any unwanted chakra signatures, I took in a deep breath and quietly stated, "I found out that my letter from the messenger hawk was intercepted by Sasuke."

My friend's eyes widened with shock. She let out a gasp and quietly squeaked, "No way! That's impossible! Why would he do that?!"

I shrugged my shoulders before replying, "From what I overheard, Sasuke didn't want me to join ANBU."

"What?!...Why?"

"I don't know…he said something about the high number of deaths."

Ino snorted out loud and crossed her arms before angrily retorting, "That's stupid! You already have a low survival rate with your current rank now…What I don't get is why that bastard didn't have enough guts to tell you that to your face."

"I know. I still can't understand that…Then again, he was never the type of person who expressed his feelings."

My blonde friend let out a 'hmph' before sarcastically muttering, "No, he just didn't want to deal with your nasty temper. He knew you would have blown up if he mentioned it."

I couldn't resist the slight upturn on the corner of my mouth. "True…but something still just isn't right. He still would have told me eventually. I mean, for one thing, he deals with me every day right? So he should be used to it."

Ino nodded her head in agreement.

"Also," I continued, "that lame excuse about death rates sounds fishy…Like you said earlier, my jonin rank has a low survival rate. And even though he thinks I'm weak because I come back from missions with injuries, he still knows that I've successfully completed many S-ranked missions before. So I know that isn't a valid excuse."

After I stopped rambling my thoughts to Ino, I stared at the floor in silence and replayed in my head the reasons why my husband didn't want me to join ANBU.

"I have a funny feeling about this," I said outloud, "and what I overheard from Sasuke is only part of it."

Ino looked confused and shot me a curious look, "What do you mean?"

I crossed my arms around my body and put a hand under my chin before replying, "I think there's more to these exams than what we think," I started, trying to get her on the same track as me, "Don't you think it's a little odd that there aren't any advertisements for these exams?"

Ino blinked, but nevertheless signaled me to go on with a firm nod.

"Well, that indicates that Tsunade didn't want too many civilians to know about these exams."

"Yeah," replied Ino, "and the way they sent these forms out was strange, too; usually they asked other shinobi to give out registration forms at a stand. But this year, only a select few Konoha jonin received them from messenger birds. They probably wanted to keep the knowledge about the ANBU exams as limited as possible, you know, so rumors won't start."

"So Tsunade-sama wanted to prevent Konoha civilians from going to these exams…But why?"

Ino contemplated on my statement for several seconds before replying, "Well, maybe she didn't want a big audience coming this year to interfere with the exams…you know how rowdy they can be."

For a moment, I accepted Ino's explanation. It seemed right because exam viewers were always a pain to deal with, but something still seemed off…

And then it came to me.

Letting out a loud gasp, I ran over to my desk and snatched up my registration forms, ignoring the surprised look Ino shot me. Flipping over to the warning statement Tsunade wrote, I reread it out loud to myself.

'**Due to the location…'**

_I don't remember anyone telling me the location of the exams!_

"Ino!" I barked as I glanced up at her, "Do you know where the exams are being held this year?"

The platinum blonde medic blinked at me once before replying, "Oh that's right! You haven't turned in your sign-up sheets yet so of course it's only natural that you wouldn't know…"

"Ino!" I bellowed when my patience ran thin, "Tell me where they are located! I need to know!"

"Ok, ok!" replied my friend, not liking what I said to her, "Don't be so pushy!...According to Tsunade-sama, the exams this year will be held in Sound."

My mind went numb…

_Sound?! Out of all the fucking villages, why does it have to be that one?! Oh! Now I'm starting to see why Sasuke didn't want me to take those exams…_

"What's wrong, Sakura?" questioned the long-haired blonde, "What's so bad about Sound?"

My alarmed viridian orbs snapped to her sky blue ones, "You don't _know_?!" I exclaimed, "You gossip about every little thing in the world and you don't know anything about Sound?!"

Ino rolled her eyes at me. "Hey, I'm only interested in stuff like beauty secrets, relationships, and affairs, politics just…bore me."

I slapped a hand to my face and resisted the urge to let out a groan in annoyance. "Ino," I started, trying to straighten it out, "Sound is the ruthless village that Orochimaru used to rule."

Ino stared at me with a confused expression. "Orochi-…maru?"

I let out a sigh, and attempted to halt my rising frustration, "You know,…that lunatic that Sasuke left the village for nine years ago?"

She seemed to understand this because her orbs widened in fright. "WHAT?! We're going to _that _place?!"

I could tell that my friend resisted a deep shudder. "Yes, and Sound despises Konoha," I replied, trying to hide my disgust, "and I heard from Tsunade that that place has gotten worse."

"So that's why Tsunade-sama didn't want the public to know about these exams."

I nodded at Ino' statement, "Yes," I muttered, "She didn't want any innocent civilian to be tortured or killed."

Standing still in my spot, I stared at my black boots, thinking about my recent discoveries. Walking to my window, I peered down at the busy streets of Konoha, pondering over a different topic. Everything made sense now: Tsunade's statement, the letter I found on Sasuke's desk this morning, the conversation between Naruto and my husband, the location of the exams, every single one of them fit together like a puzzle.

I let a smile grace my features.

_So this is the main reason why you didn't want me to take the exams, Sasuke…You would never allow me to venture into Otokagure._

My heart warmed up at the thought and my smile brightened a little.

_Sasuke…you were always overprotective of me…but you have failed to realize that I'm a full-grown shinobi who is able to take care of herself. _

My smile instantly dropped and I turned away from the window to walk back to my desk.

_I will take those exams Sasuke, whether you like it or not._

_To be continued…_

* * *

_**A/N: **_**Muahahahahaha! Yes I'm totally evil. And yes, Sasuke wasn't in this chapter (T-T). But I promise he'll be in more in the future (maybe…hehe). **

**I know it says that I updated on the 27th (but I really didn't) and that was my fault ( I almost died of a heart attack when I found out that I deleted the first chapter when I tried to edit it!)(Stupid me):D.**

**Yeah so I finally updated, and it's been what…like a month! Yeah I know, I'm terrible; but I'm trying my best to update as soon as possible (even if it takes several months (c'mon school and life are bitches!!). **


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **_**Yay! It's turkey month and I'm finally updating! Hehe...actually, the only reason why I'm updating now is because this is the first time in weeks that my evil English teacher didn't assign the class a paper to write (I swear that woman assigns them once a week!!). Yeah…so now that you know what's been killing my mood for the past two months, I decided to take this break to my advantage and update.:D**

**Important Info:**

**Thoughts: **_We are Fighting Dreamers_.

**Dialogue: **"Something in Japanese that I don't know."

**Normal: **Fighting Dreamers and something else.

* * *

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**ANBU**

***

By: twinzees

**

**Chapter Six**

*****

A variety of sounds could be heard from my opened window sill. The birds sang happily and chirped away while the children squealed and laughed in delight. Voices of gossiping women along with the loud calls of merchants echoed in my little office. Letting out a tired sigh, I glanced at the window. The sun was still up pretty high, signaling that it was mid-afternoon. Turning my attention back to the document I was currently working on, I continued to scribble furiously and tried to finish it as fast as possible before—.

"Sakura!"

Inwardly cringing at the shrieking sound of Ino's loud voice, I hurriedly shoved my unfinished paperwork to the side of my desk and stood up hastily. Looking up at the opened door, I hesitantly gazed into the angry ice-cold eyes of my best friend, who was leaning against the threshold with her arms crossed.

"Why are you still here?!" the blonde kunoichi stated harshly as she started walking towards me, "I thought I was doing you a big favor by turning in your registration forms and explaining the situation to Tsunade-sama!"

"Ino," I said pleadingly as I placed my hands on the stack of uncompleted paperwork, "I need to get these done. I'm already several days behind."

The blue-eyed medic rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh before raising her index finger to my face.

"You dummy," muttered my best friend as she poked my forehead, "You're about to take the ANBU exams in Sound without any training preparation and you're _more worried_ about a pile of _papers_?"

I couldn't help but smile lightly at her insulting, but true statement. Snatching the pen from my hand, Ino sat down in my chair and turned her attention to the unfinished pile. "Fine, I'll complete them for you," she said as she started working on one, "now go train, you'll need it."

I stared down at the blonde-haired kunoichi, astonished by her actions. Ino hates paperwork. I can't believe she willingly volunteered to finish those documents, especially if they're mine.

Giving Ino a quick hug from behind, I grabbed my medical bag and headed towards my opened window.

"Thanks Ino." I stated before hopping on my window sill and jumping out. As my feet hit the ground, I barely heard her shout, "You owe me, billboard brow!" before I took off running top speed towards the training grounds.

**

* * *

**

The feel of pure soil and rock shattering beneath my clenched fists has never felt so good to me. It almost felt as if I was experiencing this new forgotten feeling of power all over again, just like the first time I learned this technique from Tsunade. Trying to catch my breath from the sixty-minute-non-stop-training I just completed, I took the break as an opportunity to observe my damaging attacks. Many trees surrounding the area were snapped in half, and the ground that used to be one nice level of dirt and grass was now layered with rough craters. Despite all the damage I had done to the area, I still was unsatisfied with many of my jutsus and techniques.

"Pathetic," I muttered out loud to myself.

_I never thought that taking a few weeks off would make me this out-of-shape!_

My nose wrinkled with disgust and a frown formed at my lips as I thought about how dull and weak my techniques are.

_I used to snap trees I half with my pinky, now it takes my entire body to even make a tree fall!_

Trying not to let out a scream of frustration, I forced my exhausted body to move to the closest standing tree I could find to vent out my anger. Summoning more chakra than what was necessary to my hand. I punched the tree with all my might. The poor tall pine swooned and then slowly descended to the ground, making the earth shake violently from the sudden crash. Without stopping, I immediately continued to attack by punching and kicking the tree with all my strength.

"Damn—you—_Sasuke!_" I yelled as splinters of wood flew everywhere from my continuous attacks, "This—is—all—_your_—fault!"

After a series of punches, I collapsed on my knees to the ground, with my arms supporting me. Panting from my non-stop-anger-management routine, I looked up to take in my surroundings. A pack of birds that somehow decided to stay around my training are were now flying overhead, scampering from the nearby forest. The once tough, strong pine in front of me was now reduced to only a pile of broken wood and dust. Trying to ignore the dull pain from my bleeding knuckles, I quickly fell to my side and rolled over on my back to stare up at the late afternoon sky. I was still breathing really hard, so I tried to calm down by relaxing and thinking, for the first time in a few months, of absolutely nothing. Once my breathing pattern was normal, I stood up and quickly used my chakra to heal my bleeding knuckles.

_This is impossible! How in the world am I going to be ready by tomorrow?!_

After the skin on my knuckles was healed, I slipped on my black gloves that resided in my back pocket, knowing that they would protect my hands. I then glanced around and walked to the center to the destroyed field.

_I need to do something different so that I won't obliterate this forest._

I quickly went through several hand signs.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Almost immediately, twenty exact copies of myself surrounded me. Usually I would never use this jutsu because it requires too much chakra even with my perfect control. But I'm desperate to train quickly, so using one of Naruto's techniques will do more good than harm. I smirked, silently thanking the blonde knucklehead for teaching me this handy jutsu.

Glancing ahead of me, I took in the appearance of one clone as it got into my usual battle stance. It was really weird fighting yourself, not only because you get to see your fighting styles, but also you appearance in your opponent's point of view. I looked, literally, like a crouching tigress about to pounce on her prey. As I gazed at her, I noticed that my once clean closed-toed boots were now covered in patches of dirt form my previous training and my tight dark pants hugged my figure perfectly, showing off my slightly toned muscles. And, not to mention, my cherry-red top hugged my figure nicely, too, by framing my curves that I'm really proud of along with my, well…_normal_-sized chest. But what made me really smile was the appearance of my serious face: Two bright narrowed emerald jewels stared back at me along with a small nose that was wrinkled slightly and a set of perfectly formed red-colored lips that were set into a frown. The beautiful, delicate features of the clone's face along with my pale, rose-colored smooth skin could attract anyone's attention, including females. And, the light shade of pink locks—.

_Wait…hang on…my hair looks like __**that**__?!_

Before I could think any further, all twenty of my clones charged at me at once. Letting my kunoichi skills kick in, I sensed one of my clones coming up from behind me. Almost immediately, I dropped to the ground on my hands to dodge the clone's deadly incoming blow and, using my hands to swing my lower body around, knocked it down.

Before I could get up, three of my clones closed in on me and attempted to attack me in different directions. Thinking quickly, I snatched a kunai from my pack and flipped myself to a hand stand. Before they could react, I tightly wrapped my legs around the neck of the clone in front of me and twisted her to the direction to the clone on my left while jabbing the kunai into the torso of the clone on the right. When all three of them disappeared, I twisted myself upright and landed as gracefully as possible on the rocky earth.

_Four down, sixteen more to go._

After finding a clustered group of five clones, I charged at them while performing the necessary signs for one of my favorite medical techniques. The group finally seemed to realize my intentions and started to make hand signs on their own.

_Oh no you don't!_

Sending a burst of chakra to my legs, I pumped my legs faster and reached the clones at a very fast speed. Before any of them could react, I zipped through each of them with my chakra scalpel, a technique that is supposed to sever muscle or flesh, depending on how much chakra used. Stopping abruptly, I released my chakra blade and heard the five clones disappear with a 'poofing' sound.

_Geez, am I really this easy to take out?_

My question was answered when I heard the rushing sounds of water coming towards me.

"Shit!" I cursed as two water-formed dragons chased after me.

_Why did you have to teach me that technique, Kakashi-sensei?!_

"Doton Doryuuheki!" I bellowed after a series of hand signs. Right before the water could crush me, an enormous earth wall towered in front of me, protecting me from the impact.

_Phew, that was close! I'm glad Tsunade let me read through the scrolls of some of the Third's techniques!_

After the rushing water subsided, I peeked from behind the corner of the wall to see where the clones were. When I could see no one, I was about to turn around to locate them, but they found me first. I felt some of my ribs crack under the pressure of my clone's super-strength-enhanced punch as I went flying across the field. I landed harshly on the rocky ground, tumbling several times before coming to a stop.

Wiping the blood dripping from my mouth, I shakily got up and charged towards them while ignoring my injuries and thinking of my next attack. Before I knew it, my sprint was halted by a strong force wrapped around me.

_What the…_

Looking down, I realized that strangely colored snakes were coiled around my entire body and I was forced backwards at an incredible speed. Glancing up, I saw that the same kind of snakes were wrapped around all of my clones, however, they weren't gently pulling them anywhere. Instead, their bodies were being tightly squeezed and, one by one, they vanished. When the snakes released me I was caught by the strong arms of a man. I glanced up to see who held me.

"Sai!" I shrieked in surprise as I hastily pushed myself out of his hold. After a few moments of collecting myself I shot the former Team 7 member an angry glare, "What the hell were you thinking?!" I snarled, "What if one of your creatures squeezed the life out of me instead of my clones?!"

Sai's face lit up into a small smile as he calmly stated, "I knew you weren't a clone the moment I saw one of your clones punch you and sent you flying across the field."

Trying to hide my embarrassment, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and shot the ANBU member a harsh glare, "_Why _are you here?!"

Sai's smile didn't waver.

_Kami, I swear that he's always smiling!_

"You're participating in the exams tomorrow, are you not?"

My viridian orbs widened slightly at his blunt statement. How could he know? Did he eavesdrop on Ino and—.

Wait…that's right…Sai is Ino's husband. Of course she would tell him!

"How did you know?" I questioned, recovering from my slight panic.

"My wife." He answered bluntly.

My fists clenched tightly and I held back the urge to run back to the hospital and beat up that back-stabbing gossip queen. If she told Sai, then he could have told anyone else in ANBU too, meaning that the rumors will eventually get to Sasuke. And I know that once Sasuke finds out about me taking the ANBU exams, he would do anything to stop me.

"I was sent here to help you." Sai stated with a little annoyance.

I swear that I heard an old record screech…and I blinked several times in confusion before staring back into the artist's face.

"W-What?"

"Beautiful," Sai explained, still giving me that stupid smile, "sent me here to help you."

I almost gagged at the nicknames Sai used for his spouse, but, at the same time, I was extremely relieved and grateful that my friend would do this for me.

_I really need to stop jumping to conclusions._

But then something felt wrong…

Why was Sai _willingly _trying to help me? I had known Sai long enough to know that he was getting something in return out of a deed he was doing voluntarily.

"What's in it for you?" I stated, keeping my face neutral.

For once, Sai's smiley expression lessened into an evil smirk as he replied, "I couldn't let this perfect opportunity to get back at traitor-boy slip by me."

I laughed out loud at Sai's remark, thinking about how Sai and Sasuke despise each other. Sure, Sai can be strange, but sometimes he's just acts like Naruto. So I couldn't come to any other conclusion other than Sai being another one of 'Sasuke's rivals'.

"So, what are you going to help me in?" I asked after my laughing subsided. "Are you going to spar with me?"

The Sasuke look-a-like shook his head, "I came here to inform you about the exams." I could only curiously gaze into his pale, smiling face as he continued, "First of all, Ino forgot to give you this."

As on cue, Sai slipped out a sealed letter from the back of his pocket. I took the envelope form his hands and stared at it in wonder.

"It is an important letter that you must hand in to the person at the sign-in booth, so don't lose it."

"What's in this letter?" I asked as my gaze moved from the envelope to his face.

"It's an official document, written by the Hokage herself of course, explaining that you will need to be put on a separate list of participants—"

"—So when Sasuke checks the main list, he won't see my name." I finished for him.

"Precisely." The artist nodded.

I contemplated over what Sai just stated for a few seconds.

_So Tsunade is in this, too…Heh…I guess she's still a little ticked from that little debate she had lost between her and Sasuke._

"Oh, and another thing," Sai suddenly piped in, "you need to stop training and go home."

I gave Mr. Smiley Pants a dirty look.

"Why?" I questioned in confusion.

"The ANBU squads are done training for the day; they are going home early."

_Crud…I have to go home and make dinner!_

Before I could take off, Sai gripped my upper arm, stopping me.

"Whoa…slow down, ugly. I'm not done yet."

Yanking my arm from his grasp, I twisted my body around and shot him a death glare.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!" I snapped.

My temper was rising, and we all know once it's up, it will never come down as easily. Unfortunately, the idiot just kept that stupid smile on his face, making me even more pissed.

"Argh! Stop smiling or I'll rip it off your face!" I screeched as I threw my fist at his face.

Last time I did this, I sent Sai flying out of Konoha. However, that was when I was in tip-top shape from the jounin exams. Before I could blink, Sai snatched my flying wrist in a flash and easily twisted it around in a painful way.

"Sasuke and the other ANBU members are meeting a select number of registered jounins tonight at the main gates and leaving right after the sun sets." Sai muttered harshly as I tried to wiggle out of his strong grip while storing the important information in my memory for later, "Make sure you don't get caught, but be near us or else…we'll leave you behind."

"And why do I need you, Sasuke, and the others to lead me to Oto?!" I muttered angrily as I struggled harder, "I know perfectly well where it is!"

"It wouldn't be wise to travel alone."

From the way his tone sounded, I knew it was a warning. Follow us or die…such a comforting thought.

"Fine."

Finally realizing that I wouldn't get out of his grip too soon, I used an alternative move by swinging my leg up to kick him in the side. Sai reacted to this by catching it at the last second. Before I knew it, I was hurled up towards the training grounds.

_Geez, he must have thrown me really hard because I'm really high up! _

Twisting my neck to look at my opponent, I almost let out a squeal of shock as I saw him flying towards me with his sword drawn.

_Damn it!_

Before Sai could slice me in half, I quickly snatched a kunai from my pouch and blocked his attack. As our falling bodies neared the rough terrain, we both struggled furiously with our connected weapons, trying to out due one another. I had to enhance my muscles with more chakra to increase my power while Sai just used his natural strength.

_Stupid males!_

Suddenly, the thick metal that my kunai was made of started to crack, and I knew that I was done for. My kunai fell apart, and right when my feet hit the ground I tried to spring out of the path of Sai's sword.

I was too slow.

His sword nicked me and left a deep gash on my left shoulder. Reacting quickly, I did several back flips to distance myself from the ANBU member. Using what little chakra I had left, I started to heal my wound and stared into Sai's emotionless orbs as he shook the crimson liquid off his sword and sheathed it.

_I never knew Sai was this strong…Has he improved this much from ANBU training?_

Shooting me that very annoying smile, he straightened up and casually strolled towards me. "You're not ready to take the ANBU exams."

My nails dug into my leather gloves as I bitterly retorted, "I already knew that, smartass! Try stating something else that the whole world doesn't know!"

"You need another weapon."

After the artist stopped in front of me, I gazed up at him in silence as he untied his spare sword from his belt.

"Here," he said, handing me the sword, "You need to learn how to use it for the exams."

I clutched the heavy weapon in my hands, "…Why?"

"Because you will die if you don't."

My eyes flew from the sword to his now expressionless face as the wind blew through the opened training grounds, ruffling my hair.

"Do you really think you'll fly through those exams by protecting yourself with a dinky weapon like that?" Sai muttered as he kept eye contact with me, "With your chakra, you have incredible strength, but what would happen when you run out of it? How would you protect yourself then?"

I couldn't think of a good comeback. I was too focused on Sai to even think.

"Kunais are only mere tools used for distance attacks." Sai continued, his gaze never wavering, "They should never be used for defense unless it's a last resort."

I couldn't reply to his statement with any sarcasm because I knew he was right.

"You need to train with this sword to learn the basics first, and then you can move on to any weapon that you choose."

After jumping back several times, Sai removed his sword again from its sheath and pointed it at me, "Come on…one quick spar before I go."

Removing my own sword, I placed the sheath next to one of the many split trees and raised the weapon. It was heavier than I thought, so I sent small amounts of chakra to my hands so that I could maneuver the sword without any difficulty. When I looked back to where Sai was, he was already charging at me. Slightly panicked, I stood where I was and prepared myself to block any of his sharp attacks.

"W-W-Wait! Aren't you supposed to show me how to use this thing before we spar?!"

He never answered me because he started attacking me in a series of random cuts. Awkwardly, yet stealthily, I used my sword to block every one of his attacks. It really wasn't too hard. A sword was almost like a kunai, just longer and…well, sharper.

For several minutes, the only sound I could hear was the clashing our swords were making at every connection. Before long, Sai ended his series of continuous swipes with one hard vertical slash. I blocked his sword with mine and almost dropped the blade from the amount of sheer power he put into it. For several seconds, the painter and I struggled for dominance, but then I put a large boost of chakra into my muscles and pushed hard at Sai's weapon through mine.

Surprisingly, Sai stumbled backwards several feet and almost tripped over one of the fallen trees. As he tried to regain his balance, I took the opportunity to charge at him while letting out a battle cry. Right when I swung the sword down on him, he hastily brought his up and swung at the hilt of my sword, causing it to fly out of my hands. I let out a gasp of surprise, not believing how easily he managed to knock it out of my hands.

"That's enough." Sai stated as he sheathed his own sword, "You'll have to learn offensive skills at another time. Right now, as long as you can defend yourself with my sword, your chance of survival is slightly higher."

I nodded at Sai's remark and went to look for my own sword and sheath. After packing my belongings and strapping the sword under my belt, I turned around to look for Sai, only to find him standing in my line of vision.

"Oh!...Sai…er..thank you…..for this I mean." I said as I pointed at the sword.

I was about to turn around to walk away, but Sai's hand landed on my shoulder, stopping me from going anywhere.

"Sakura," he said in a very serious tone that he rarely used, "Sound is not like it used to be at all…"

"…..I know."

"Although you'll be near us during the journey, you still need to be careful once you enter the village…Oto is a dangerous place for a woman like you to travel into by herself."

Nodding at his statement, I took his hand off my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, Sai." I said as I gazed at his serious face, "I'll be cautious."

With one last nod, Sai disappeared, and after checking to see if I collected everything, I started to sprint toward the direction of the Uchiha compound.

_To be continued…_

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_**A/N: **_**Ouch! My fingers hurt sooo bad from typing!...Ok the chapter is done ladies and gentlemen, I guess I'll see you in several more months (hehe).**

**With the techniques and jutsus I've added in here, I hope it seems realistic because she's a jonin right now and mastering more than one element is normal at that level, right??? (I originally wanted to put in one element but my poll was a freakin' tie!!!)**

**Oh, and just to let you know, I'm not Japanese, so those jutsus could be wrong, please let me know if they are (you can never rely on the internet!).**

**As for the battle scenes, yeah I know, I suck. You don't have to lie to me. But I'll tell you one thing though, I will never complain about Kishimoto-san updating late EVER again. **_**Why**_**? Because battle scenes, fights, jutsus, etc. are as hard as crap to write about (you can easily spend two hours trying to think about one move)! So do you guys remember when Kishimoto-san didn't update for like a month near Christmas (it was still in the middle of the battle between Jiraiya and Pein). Well now I regret every negative thing I had thought of him…coughlazycough…and now I worship his awesomeness.:)**

**To end on a positive note, Sai was really fun to write about. His character cracks me up.^_^**

**Review please!**

**Ja ne!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: **_**Holy smokes! I can't believe it's December already! Oh well, at least half the school year is almost over:D**

**If you haven't already go back to the last chapter to see how I view the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura in my story.**

**Yeah.....I can't think of anything to say so on with the chapter.**

**You should know this by now…**

**Thoughts: **_Deck the halls with boughs of holly._

**Dialogue: **"Fa-la-la-la-la---la-la-la-la."

**Normal: **Tis the season to be jolly.

**Hehe…yeah I know you're probably sick of this, but it's that time of year again:)**

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**ANBU**

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By: twinzees

**

**Chapter Seven**

*****

The run to the Uchiha manor was considerably short, considering how far it was from the training grounds, and I was in a hurry to get home, so a shorter time is better. As the house came into view from where I was running, I pushed my exhausted legs harder, making the sound of my high-heeled boots louder from the impact it was making against the stone pavement.

_I need to get there before Sasuke does!_

After arriving at the border gates, I stopped and leaned against the wall to take a short break, panting from my run. Glancing around the corner of the giant wall to the entrance of the manor, I scanned the area for any signs of movement or life. When I could sense no one, I straightened up and leaned back against the wall again, contemplating on what to do.

_Although there aren't any lights on, Sasuke could possibly be in the house right now. So I need to take precautions…I can't allow him to see me like this or he'll be suspicious._

After making sure there was no sign of the raven-haired shinobi, I quickly scurried across the yard and then pressed my back against the side of the house. When I sensed no one around me, I swiftly unlatched my katana from my belt and shoved it underneath one of the few surviving bushes. After making sure every part of the long weapon was hidden, I then made my way to the backyard and climbed up the porch hesitantly, scanning the area cautiously for any sign of my husband.

Once I made sure no one was there, I went up to the wooden steps and rushed towards the outdoor showers. When I spotted the ancient-looking stall, I opened the wooden door, which made a loud rusty squeak every time its hinges were forced to move. I cringed slightly at the piercing noise, praying that Sasuke, if he was in the manor, wouldn't hear it. Right when I shut the door, I scanned the small stall for a towel and a bar of soap, finding it on the bottom shelf in the back corner. Slipping off my boots, I peeled off my clothes, which were damp and sticky from my earlier training, and spread them out across the shelves to air out alongside my belongings. Once I put my hair into a firm bun, I quickly turned on the shower and let the cold water run down my body.

_Ugh!...I hate cold showers!_

When most of the dirt and sweat was scrubbed off, I immediately twisted back the knob to cut off the shower. My body shivered as the evening chilly air hit my wet skin. Trying to repress a shiver, I swiped the towel from the shelf and covered myself without any delay. Unfortunately, the thin material was not enough to warm me up.

While rubbing my hands against my arms to keep warm, I turned around and glanced at myself in the small mirror, checking my face and arms for any traces of dirt or blood that I've missed. After pulling pieces of wood and twigs out of my now let down hair, I went over to the shelf and shoved on my still damp clothes, holding in the urge to groan out loud from the uncomfortable feeling. Once I was done, I glanced around, trying to sense the dark-eyed shinobi, but then stopped, realizing how paranoid I was getting.

_Sasuke is probably not here because Naruto usually drags him somewhere after ANBU training…But still, I need to hurry up so I can pack._

Grabbing my things, I hastily jogged barefooted towards the backyard door, which usually was unlocked. Right when I entered the house, I threw down my belongings and hurried into the dark kitchen. Without cutting on any lights, I quickly searched through the refrigerator. Once all the materials were out, I grabbed several pots and pans and was about to throw them on the counter, but something in my reflection from the pan caught my eye. Looking down, I realized that there were specks of blood dotted in several places on my shirt.

_Shit…_

Growling profanities under my breath, I gently placed the pan on the counter and briskly made my way through the dark hallway towards the stairs to change my top. When I was halfway up, I paused after hearing footsteps coming from the hall. After a couple of seconds of hearing nothing, I continued to ascend the stairs.

_Man I could've sworn I heard something…I need to get my hearing checked._

"Who's there?!" A thunderous voice ordered down the hall.

I immediately halted at the sound of the booming voice.

_Damn! Sasuke is here! If he sees me in this bloody shirt….oh not good, this is not good!_

Without answering him, I panicked by quickly tip-toeing quietly downstairs toward the kitchen, praying that my husband would continue whatever he was doing upstairs. Snatching the apron hanging on the wall, I slipped it on, releasing my held breath. Suddenly, I felt a large hand strongly grip my neck and roughly shoved my back against the wall, making me let out a loud gasp. Blood red eyes bore into my wide apple-green ones for several seconds before the spiky-haired male released his solid hold, causing me to lean back against the wall for support. For a few moments, the only sounds that were heard in the manor were my ragged breaths and coughs. My husband silently watched me as I slowly healed my swollen neck, which was already bruised from his strong grip.

"…Sasuke…" I whispered hoarsely when my breathing pattern became normal.

"Hn." My handsome spouse grunted as he straightened his posture and walked stiffly to the other side of the room. After turning on the lights, he sharply whirled around and shot me a chilling glare.

"Why didn't you cut the lights on?" He commanded bitterly while keeping a stoic face, "Were you sneaking around?"

After momentarily gazing at him in shock of the insulting accusation, I let out a scoff and tilted my head upwards, letting my fierce eyes peer into his furious stare.

"I wasn't…_sneaking _around!" I retorted stiffly while I tried to think up of ways to cover up for my panicked mistake from earlier. Walking over to the counter, I started to fill a pot with water from the sink, "I just got back from the hospital and it was dark! I was in a hurry to make dinner and was about to cut them on until you came rampaging in here!"

After setting the pot on the stove and turning it on, I searched for a wooden spoon in one of the many drawers. Once I found it, I strode back toward the stove, determined to not glance at the rattled male, who was eyeing me the entire time. After keeping my gaze down on the pot for a few seconds, I heard the irritated Uchiha's footsteps echo around the kitchen as he walked toward me. I felt my body stiffen in uneasiness when I sensed the ex-avenger stop behind me with his mouth inches from my ear.

"Next time," he growled with his deep voice, "turn on the lights so you won't cause such a ruckus."

I held my tongue as I listened to his heavy footsteps leave the room. I then let out a long sigh and stared intently at the water, trying not to unleash my temper.

As I poured instant rice and placed a small amount of butter into the pot, I covered it and listened on as I heard Sasuke climb the stairs.

"Stupid woman." I heard him mutter as he stomped slightly harder up the stairs.

Jerking my head up, I whirled around and glared heatedly at the retreating back of my husband.

_Men…..Ugh!_

Resisting the urge to throw the wooden spoon at his head, I turned my attention back towards the stove to continue cooking. After slicing several pieces of tomato, I started to chop up the vegetables. When I was done, I started to mix the veggies with a special marinated sauce that I learned how to make from Choji. By the time I was done mixing the vegetables, I took the simmering covered pot off the stove in order to let the rice absorb the water. I then dragged a teapot from the shelves, filled it with water, added tea leaves to it, and set it on the stove to boil. Taking out two bowls, I stirred the rice and immediately dumped an equal amount of it into each bowl. After setting the food on the table, I grabbed two cups from the shelf and poured water into them. When I put the cups down, I went to my side of the table to start eating. I didn't have to call Sasuke to tell him that dinner was ready because I was sure he knew about it by now.

After taking a few bites from my delicious meal, I worriedly pondered on how I was going to make it through tomorrow's exam, and that's when I started to feel weird. I became nauseous and I felt like there was something stuck in my throat. Placing my chopsticks down, I took several sips of water, but the feeling didn't go away. When my husband finally walked into the kitchen, the feeling seemed to get worse. After Sasuke kneeled down on the other side of the table, I tried to ignore the edgy feeling and forced myself to eat slowly. We both ate dinner in silence. Neither one of us looked at one another because, for one, I was really pissed at him for earlier and a number of reasons, and two, he was probably agitated and was being his cold-bastardly self.

When I was done with my meal, I pushed the bowl away from me and took a sip of water, trying to settle my nervousness about the exams. Setting my cup down, I placed my elbow on the table and used my hand to support my chin while my other unoccupied hand was fingering the soft fabric of the apron.

_What am I doing? I'm not ready to take those exams! What if something goes wrong? What if Sasuke spots me before I get there?!_

Biting my lip, I ran a hand through my hair and let out a sigh.

_How in the world am I going to pack everything after he leaves?!!_

Glancing out of the kitchen window, I predicted that it was going to be nighttime in less than an hour.

_Oh no! If Sasuke doesn't leave now, I won't have time to search for good weapons! I'll get left behind! I'll—!_

I stopped my rambling thoughts as a familiar, odd feeling shot through me. Taking my eyes off the window, I twisted my head around and spotted two endless black pools of darkness staring intently at me, as if they were studying me. For a moment, I could've sworn his eyebrows knitted slightly together in concentration when he was observing me. It looked like he trying to figure something out but couldn't quite grasp it. Taking my hand off my face, I realized that it was shaking slightly. Hoping that my spouse didn't see it, I quickly moved my hand down to grab my apron in order for it to stop. We stared at each other for a few more seconds, and when his expression turned into slight puzzlement, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

_If I keep this up, he might become suspicious and try to make me spill what I've been hiding from him!_

"Is something wrong?" I asked the male across from me, breaking the thick tension.

The raven-haired ANBU captain kept his gaze on me. "You're trembling…," he uttered as he peered into my viridian orbs while observing every movement I made, "…Are you scared?"

Panic welled up inside me as I felt my back stiffen in reaction to what he said.

_He knows?! Oh no! This is not good, not good at all!_

I tried my best to not display any emotion on my face as I stared back into his calculating eyes.

"I'm not scared!" I lied as I gripped my apron tighter, "I'm just….just….."

The tension in the air was suffocating me, clouding my usually clear mind to think up of acceptable excuses. Suddenly, a loud shriek from the teapot on the stove resounded throughout the kitchen, saving me from my stutter. Taking this as a chance to escape, I quickly got up from my position on the mat and strolled towards the oven, lifting the pot from the burner. After pouring two cups of tea, I set the still full pot on an unused burner and took the cups to the table.

_Ok Sakura, calm down. Everything will be alright._

Placing a cup in front of the handsome shinobi, I went back to my seat and kneeled down. For a good ten minutes, although it seemed like forever, we sat again in silence, enjoying our hot tea. The only difference this time was that I kept my eyes glued on the table while Sasuke's eyes were attached on me. Lifting the cup to my lips, I took a long sip of the beverage, and let the soothing warmth comfort my body. But as soon as the pleasant liquid went down my throat, the feeling was gone. A frosty atmosphere took its place as I stared down into the steaming tea in my hands, letting my thoughts take over.

_Taking these exams will be proof to Sasuke that I am a capable kunoichi who doesn't need protection. But…Is this the right way to show him? It might be better if I wait for next year's exam. Right now, my reflexes are slow, my stamina is low, and almost every one of my jutsus, other than my medical ones, are rusty…I can't face those Sound nin like this! And Orochimaru…..no…..Orochimaru's dead…he was killed by Sasuke…_

"Sakura."

After blinking twice, I took my gaze off my half-empty cup and hesitantly looked up at the last Uchiha.

"Y-Yes?" I stuttered, trying my hardest to rid my face of any expression.

"You're still trembling." He stated as his eyes moved from my face to the cup in my hands.

Looking down, I realized that my husband's proclamation was right. The tea sloshed lightly back and forth against the walls of the cup due to my shaking hands. Placing the cup down, I put my hands on my lap and intertwined my fingers to stop them from trembling.

"Oh…..I'm a little cold….that's all." I assured, which was the truth because it was a little chilly in the manor. For a few more minutes, we sat and drank more of the tea in an awkward silence. Finally, Sasuke removed the tension by getting up and heading out of the kitchen and up the stairs. When I heard his footsteps fade away, I let out a long breath that I didn't know I was holding in.

_Phew…that was close…_

Taking up the dishes from the table, I moved over to the sink and started washing them. Once I was done cleaning up the kitchen, I poured myself another glass of tea and walked towards the front of the house. Snatching a thick overcoat from the hanger, I quickly draped it over my shoulders and headed outside. It was March and pretty chilly for an early spring night, so I clutched the coat tighter around me and sat down on the edge of the front porch. Letting my naked feet dangle, I gazed up at the breath-taking sunset, taking in every beautiful aspect. As minutes ticked by, I sat in silence and enjoyed the view while sipping on my warm beverage. Before long, the sun finally set over the horizon and tiny diamonds started to sparkle in the dark sky. The full moon started to rise and the cooing night birds filled the silence along with the chirping crickets. Tiny fireflies danced around the garden, illuminating specks of golden lights.

Setting my empty cup down, I shifted into a more comfortable position and took in the mysterious beauty of nightfall. A sudden opening of the screen door startled me from my peaceful enjoyment, but I didn't have to turn around to see who it was. Keeping my gaze on the calming environment, I listened to my husband's footsteps as he headed toward the steps and stop. A light breeze flew through the yard, making the wind chimes clash softly against one another and causing my pink locks to sway across my face.

"You're leaving." I stated as I watched the leaves of the trees in the distance flutter gracefully from the wind.

"Yes." I heard him reply as he adjusted his pack.

Twisting my head in his direction, I took in my husband's appearance.

He was dressed in full ANBU uniform, wearing arm and chest guards along with black pants, an attire that showed off his toned muscles. His kusanagi hung loosely beside him on his weapon belt as he gripped his backpack. And as my eyes trailed up his arms, I noticed that his black arm warmers barely covered his muscular biceps. Not to mention, the ANBU tattoo on the top of his left arm stuck out. My eyes wandered up to his face, as if he sensed my stare, Sasuke turned his head to face me. Two gorgeous onyx orbs stared back at me as the moonlight illuminated his pale, handsome features. Sasuke's midnight-black spiky hair blew slightly in the wind as several strands touched his red-and-white painted hawk mask on top of his head.

Standing up from my position, I slowly walked towards my husband. When I neared him, I stopped in front of him and looked up into his aristocratic face.

"Bye Sasuke." I whispered, gripping my overcoat closer to my body.

I wasn't sure whether to embrace him or not. My emotions for my husband mixed between love and hate. Love for his protectiveness and of me, but hate for attempting to delay my entry into ANBU. At that moment, I didn't have to decide because what the ex-nukenin did next made my heart skip a beat. Leaning down, my husband brushed away several strands of cotton candy hair away from my face and softly kissed my forehead. As his warm lips lingered on my forehead, I barely heard what my beloved spouse said next because I was in too much of a daze to move or say anything.

"Be safe." Sasuke muttered as he stared down into my face.

After a few seconds, he straightened up and started to walk down the steps. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." My husband said icily as he walked towards the opening of the surrounding walls of the Uchiha property.

Clutching my hand to my heart, I silently watched my husband walk away from me. I watched his sword dangle from his side. I watched how the tips of his spiky hair bounce slightly with every step he took. I stared longingly at his back, expecting him to maybe glance back and give me one of his sexy smirks.

But he did nothing.

His form was getting farther away from me. And for some unknown reason, I felt unsatisfied. I craved more of his gentle kisses. I wanted to feel the warmth of his strong arms around me. And I regretted not embracing him when I had the chance to do so. Letting my attention drift back to Sasuke, I realized he was near the walls and was just about to leave the Uchiha premises.

"Sasuke, wait!" I screamed as I flew down the steps and rushed towards him.

I was desperate as I ran towards my husband, who had halted from my cry. I felt the wind resist me, blowing into my face and making my overcoat fly off my shoulders. But I didn't care. My eyes were glued onto my husband's handsome face. When I reached him, I flung myself at him and tightly wrapped my arms around his torso, resting my head against his chest. As I melted in his strong arms, which were wrapped around my body, I looked up into my husband's stoic face to find that his expression held slight concern.

Before either of us could mutter a word, I leaned up and pressed my lips against his. Sasuke seemed to be taken aback for a second before he returned my kiss with the same amount of passion. We kissed until our lungs screamed for air and when we broke apart, I buried my head in his chest, still keeping a firm embrace around his body.

I was scared.

Scared about what was going to happen to the both of us in Otokagure. I loved Sasuke deeply, and I knew he loved me. But what will happen if he found out? I contemplated on it, wandering how our relationship will be like after the exams…

…if I survive.

As if sensing my discomfort, Sasuke's arms tightened around me. For a few more moments, we stayed in that position, with his warm embrace comforting me from my dreadful thoughts.

"I need to go, Sakura." My husband said gently as he rubbed soothing circles on my back with his large hand.

"I know." I replied, still troubled from my thoughts.

"Be strong, Sakura." My husband stated as he released me. I looked up at him again. "I won't be gone long."

I hugged him one last time, gaining courage from his statement. "Bye, Sasuke." I muttered before releasing him, "Take care of yourself."

After giving me a small smirk, he turned around and disappeared around the wall. For a minute, I stared at the spot he was standing in a few seconds ago before turning around and running toward the house, snatching up my empty cup and overcoat in the process.

_Sasuke's right. I need to be strong!_

_To be continued…_

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_**A/N: **_**There's my chapter for December. Happy late Thanksgiving, and, if I don't update before Christmas, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! **

**News: Right now I am updating once a month. Softball season is coming up, so instead of updating every month, I'll probably update every two or three months. I can't say this for sure until I experience it, but it's coming soon and I just wanted to give you guys a heads up.**

**Other than that, please review, review, review! And as for a motivation (and celebration for nearing 100 reviews) the person who is the 100th reviewer will get the next chapter dedicated to them AND a cookie!:P**

**Toodles!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: **_**Congratulations miss-larsen! You are my 100th reviewer so this chapter is entirely dedicated to you! And for a bonus, you receive a giant chocolate-chip cookie! (Yum!!) Thank you SO much for reviewing, you all make me feel LOVED!**

**The manga is so boring right now…I wish something exciting would happen.**

**I don't feel like rambling right now, so on with the story.**

**Thoughts: **_I_

**Dialogue: **"am"

**Normal: **bored.

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**ANBU**

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By: twinzees

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**Chapter Eight**

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For the first time this week, I was glad that I haven't seen a single mirror near me because my hair would have been a mess by now from my hustling around the house. After rechecking to make sure I've packed all my belongings, I shrugged on my pack and black traveling cloak. When my tools were strapped in, I took one more hurried glance around the room before rushing out of the bedroom, searching for my black boots. Without securing them on as tight as I usually would, I sprinted towards the bush that I left Sai's sword under, strapped it tightly on my belt, and took off out of the Uchiha compound.

As I pounced over many rooftops, I let the chilly wind glide through my hair, smiling widely when my ears split and my eyes watered from the blinding speed. This was the life! It was one of the greatest feelings in the world! Adrenaline drove through my veins as I flipped over a water tower and landed gracefully on the side of a deserted road. From a few streets over, I could hear the sounds of a couple talking, a group of men laughing, and music beating from a nearby bar.

Konoha civilians were enjoying themselves on this nice early spring night.

But I knew every single one of them were ignorant about the secretive ANBU exams that will take place in Otokagure tomorrow.

After concealing my chakra, I started to stealthily run towards the nearby gates, not making a single sound. As the road started to get wider and the scenery started changing from buildings to trees, I slowed my pace down and quickly climbed up one of the many tall trees to hide in. When I was sure no one was following me, I raised the hood of my cloak over my head to help conceal my bright hair and quietly jumped from tree to tree until the gigantic kanji of the gates came into view.

Using the thick trunk to hide my body, I tried to stay within its shadows and tilted my head to peek past the few trees in front of me. Just like Sai said, there was a group of no more than thirty ANBU members and participants huddled in front of the gates. It was hard to see the shinobi's faces from a distance, but after staring for a while, I finally could make out some faces. I couldn't recognize some of the people there, but there were a few familiar ones that I could identify.

Naruto.

Hinata.

Sasuke.

Ino.

Choji.

Sai.

Neji.

Tenten.

Temari.

Shikamaru.

Shino.

Lee.

They were all there….

…and wait…

Is that Kakashi?

_What the heck is he doing here? I thought he retired from ANBU years ago._

Before I could come to any conclusions, I took in the sight of Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, sprinting through the gates into Konohagakure.

_Great. Now I really need to keep my distance._

After hopping back several trees, I turned around to look at the group only to see the Fifth Hokage suddenly materialize in front of the gates, gaining everyone's attention. Putting her hands on her hips, my former teacher took two steps toward the group and started talking to them. Leaning closer, I strained my ears to hear what she was saying.

"—luck on the exams. Uchiha, who has the most knowledge and experience about Sound, will be your temporary captain tonight and will lead you into the village, hopefully, without any conflicts."

I had to silently move to the limb in front of me because the next thing she muttered was so low, I barely heard her.

"I strongly recommend you to follow his orders, no matter how ridiculous they are, without second thoughts. And don't disobey him, or it'll be the end for you."

After a few moments of tense silence, the Godaime slowly relaxed after a long sigh, and the wrinkle that was on her brow disappeared before she stated in a gentler voice, "Have a safe journey…and may Kami be with you."

Right after the busty woman spoke those words, she disappeared while my husband walked up to the spot she was in, facing the group.

"Listen up," he ordered coldly through his hawk mask, "You will be split into groups of three. Hyuuga will lead Sector C."

Sasuke paused as he pointed with his thumb at the wolf-masked Neji, who stepped forward.

"Naruto will lead Sector B."

My husband used his other hand to point at Naruto, who nodded sharply in his crazily-designed fox mask.

"And I will lead Sector A."

Putting his hands down, Sasuke glanced at the other two ANBU captains before continuing in his you-better-not-disobey-me tone, "We will enter the village from different locations and meet at the rendezvous point."

Pulling my coat closer to me to keep in the warmth, I shifted my weight to my other leg and watched the three ANBU captains divide the participants into three groups.

"I expect every one of you to stay with your assigned group." My husband declared as I watched him stroll over to his squad, "If not, you will be left behind to deal with the Sound shinobi on your own."

After a long, hard stare at all the participants, my spouse straightened up and turned his head towards Neji.

"Sector C is dismissed. Take them to the South Gate."

With a firm nod, the Hyuuga male motioned for the group that included Kiba and his dog to follow him. I watched with relief as I saw them disappear from sight.

_Thank goodness. Now I don't have to worry about them smelling my scent until I get into Oto, that way I'll have time to do that jutsu._

For the next five minutes, I waited patiently in my hiding place, listening as the chirping crickets and hooting owls filled in the silence of the night. Leaning my head against the trunk, I gazed at the two ANBU groups, waiting for Sasuke to release another squad.

"Sector B," announced my spouse after a few minutes as he glanced at Naruto, who was holding Hinata close to him, "you are dismissed. Go through the East Gate."

"Roger that! C'mon chumps…" exclaimed the spiky-blonde fox-head as he motioned to his group, "…and chum!" he added after glancing at his wife as he raced with her and his squad out of the tall gates.

_Fantastic. I have to follow Sasuke's group._

Sitting up, I looked down at the last group of ANBU participants. Sasuke was the closest to the village gates, gazing up at the bright, full moon. Ino was talking to her husband, who was adjusting his tiger mask. Kakashi was leaning against a tree near the path, reading one of the books of his favorite series. Choji, munching on potato chips, was sitting on the ground near Kakashi while observing the last minute conditioning Lee was putting in before the ANBU exams. I couldn't recognize the last four members of Sasuke's squad, but just by looking at the three males and the kunoichi, I could tell that they were powerful.

For another ten minutes, I sat perched up in my little tree, anxiously waiting for the last squad to leave. To occupy myself, I started fingering the loose ends of my cotton candy hair, which had fallen forward from keeping my head down for so long. Pushing the strands back into the hood of my cloak, I glanced back up at the group that was now gathered in front of my husband.

"Let's go." I heard him command as he disappeared from sight.

The entire squad made quick hand signs and vanished almost immediately after he did. Standing up, I stretched my tight limbs and cautiously jumped down, heading towards the front gates.

_I'll probably have to wait several more minutes before I can go._

Ever since Sasuke came back to the village, we, Team 7, would spar against one another periodically, just to keep up our teamwork skills. After several weeks of doing this, I finally got to know almost everything about the powerful ex-nuke nin's abilities. I knew his strengths, his weaknesses, what his favorite attacks were, what attacks he rarely used, what attacks required him to use a lot of chakra…things like that. During that course, I also figured out how far away you have to be in order for him to not sense your chakra when you're not masking it. And believe me, it's a pretty good distance. My husband can be an excellent tracker nin when he was searching for something. He had plenty of experience, too, during the years he was looking for Itachi.

After checking to make sure Izumo and Kotetsu weren't at their guard posts, I released the strong mask I held over my chakra but kept the flare low so that the ANBU squad wouldn't detect me. After I knew for sure that Sasuke and his team were miles ahead of me, I pumped a small amount of chakra into my legs and sprinted out of the borders of Konoha, not looking back as I jumped off the wide dirt path and into the thick forest.

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If I had thought following them would be a piece of cake, I must have been on some type of drug that affects the functions of the brain because I was totally wrong! After wiping off the layers of sweat rolling down my forehead, I squatted down on the forest floor and examined what looked like a fresh footprint embedded into the soil. Snatching up some of the dirt, I brought my hand up to my nose and took a whiff of the scent.

_Yep. That unique rubbery smell is definitely one of Konoha's sandals._

Letting the soil slowly crumble out of my hand, I stood up and looked straight ahead of me, trying to find more clues to where the pack went. Finding nothing, I let out a groan in frustration and looked around me to see if they took off in another direction.

Again.

I knew Sasuke didn't want anyone following him because of the irregular-hard-to-trace way he's been traveling, but did he have to make this so fucking difficult?!

_Geez! I've been at this for five hours!! I know where Sound is! Maybe I should've gone straight to it by myself…_

…_but then I would probably risk getting myself killed if I took on those Sound nin head first._

Taking to the trees, I started heading in the direction the footprint looked like it was going to go, and soon enough, spotted a kunai nick in the bark of the tree. Looking around, I spotted other tiny slices and followed them, changing directions once in a while.

_I guess Sai and Ino did this for me to help me out. Thanks guys._

For about an hour, I was constantly hopping from one limb to another until I realized that my body was starting to get tired.

_Damn it! I am so out-of-shape! I feel like I'm back to my genin days!_

Slightly panting, I swung myself from the top of a large pine tree and landed on the muddy soil, taking a sip from my water can as I continued walking quickly down the thick path. Concealing my chakra in case other shinobi were around, I tried to follow the tracks that the Yamanakas gave me. After a half hour, I felt like my legs were going to give out and slumped myself against an oak tree, closing my dry eyes to relieve them of the freezing air.

"Five minutes," I panted slightly as my aching muscles cried for rest, "Just five minutes."

I heard the sound of a twig snapping in the distance.

Gasping from the sudden noise, I quietly forced myself off the tree and headed towards a thick brush that I spotted ahead, taking out a kunai as I ran. Diving behind the thorny shrub, I crawled underneath it and prepared myself to attack. My heart pounded loudly in my chest and I tried my best to control my breath. My nerves were going haywire, and this dreadful feeling that I thought I had gotten over was suddenly coming back.

I was absolutely terrified.

_Were those Sound nin? Oh Kami! I don't know if I'm able to protect myself! I have enough chakra, but my body can't take much more physical labor!_

For several seconds, I pressed my head down on the icy forest floor in silence, straining my ears to hear any more noise. After a shaky breath, I swallowed my saliva and kept my widened apple eyes ahead of me, trying to calm myself down in the process.

_Maybe it was an animal…Yeah…it probably was some poor little creature trying to find food._

I knew my overly-optimistic mind was trying to overcome the fear in my system by convincing myself with that statement, but something in my gut told me to stay hidden, that what I heard was not caused by some critter.

Ceasing to breathe, I stilled, listening in anticipation and horror at the crunching leaves that resonated near my hiding place.

"Stop making all that racket, you imbecile!" a feminine voice hissed quietly.

"Why? I'm just trying to find something to snack on." the raspy male voice returned.

"We don't have time! We need to get back!"

"Well, why don't you go on ahead?"

"Because we have to stick together dimwit, remember!?"

"Che…Like I give a damn about what that ass wipe says!"

I clenched the kunai tightly in my fist, preparing myself to spring out of the hedge to take down the arguing Oto nin, but a familiar voice halted my actions.

"You two!" barked the voice, "Get a move on! You're not supposed to be here!"

"Y-Yes, Kakashi-san!" the pair simultaneously stammered as I heard their footsteps scatter toward the direction they came from.

At that moment, I couldn't tell if I was either relieved at the fact that there wasn't any Sound ninja in the area, or frightened about Sasuke's squad residing nearby. Damn, now I kind of wished they were shinobi from Otokagure because I had a better chance of escaping. But now that Kakashi is literally five feet from me…

…I didn't want to finish that thought.

I lied still under the bush for several seconds, trying my best to keep my chakra as low as possible while hoping the porn-loving ninja would leave. After I risked trying to find his chakra, I felt relieved that I couldn't sense his signature near me. Pushing my torso off the damp ground, I poked my head through the opening of the hedge, trying to push my body out without snagging my cloak.

A shadowed face appeared inches from mine.

"Boo."

I let out a piercing scream as a reaction, but the shrill sound could only last a second because a hand clamped over my mouth. I started struggling, trying to bite the hand off, but the moonlight that leaked through the trees flashed upon the face of the person who frightened me.

"Calm down, Sakura!" whispered my ex-sensei as he tightened his grip on my jaw, "You need to be quiet!"

"Kakashi?" I mumbled through his hand as he glanced around him.

"Shit." I heard him curse as his uncovered coal-black eye locked onto my bewildered face. "Conceal your chakra and don't make a sound!"

Another person would have questioned his sudden orders, but after being taught under the silver-haired nin for part of my life, I followed his command without a second thought. Kakashi harshly shoved my head back into the bush, and I let out a small cry as I felt waves of pain roam my neck. Lifting my head up to berate the jonin for his roughness, I opened my mouth to start lashing at the masked man, whose feet were seen clearly in front of the shrub, but something else stopped me.

Another set of feet materialized on the opposite side of the path.

"Kakashi," stated the voice of my husband, "Where is she?!"

"Huh?" my former sensei stated dumbly as he shifted his weight to his right foot, "Who are you looking for?"

"Sakura."

I felt my blood run cold.

_He knows I'm here!_

If I could wish for anything in the world right now, it would be for those bloody Sound nin to pop up, because right now would be a good time!

"I heard her scream." My husband continued in a tone that was laced with anger.

_To be continued…_

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_**A/N: **_**Muahahahahahahahahaha! *evil smile* I left a cliffy! **

**I hoped everyone enjoyed this chapter, especially you miss-larsen, because this chapter's dedicated to you. (I also hoped you enjoyed your cookie (hehe)):)**

**Anyhoos, until the next time I update folks, which is sometime in the near future (and hopefully before ball season, which starts next month, Gah!)**

**Oh and before any of you flame me because of a dead character existing in this story, I would like to mention this: KAKASHI WILL FOREVER LIVE ON IN MY WORLD!!!**

**Review Please!:)**


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **_**Hahaha! You guys never thought I'd update, did you?**

**Okie-dokie, I'm thinking about alternating between **_**Left Behind**_** and this story randomly just to keep up my drive for both stories. BUT…that would mean longer updating periods. But I'm really doing two stories at once so I'll need the time…you'll just have to be patient.**

**Other Good News: Hehehe! I'm so excited! I caught my sister trying to write the next chapter of her story, so expect an update from her.;)**

**Other News: If you see anything wrong in this story (like OOC-ness, something corny or confusing, anything that seems stupid in your mind), please TELL ME! I'll gladly accept any statements or criticism about my stories (not about me though) without being offended. Believe me, they will help me more than hurt me.**

**Now I'm not discouraging those who have given me praises to stop reviewing. I love to hear your reviews, too, because it helps lift my spirits. I'm just trying to tell you to inform me in your future reviews to leave an explanation about any vague or confusing parts.**

**Remember…**

**Thoughts: **_Whose eyes am I behind?_

**Dialogue: **"I don't recognize anything that I see."

**Normal: **Whose skin is this design?

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**ANBU**

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By: twinzees

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**Chapter Nine**

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"Oh…really?" drawled the gray-haired jounin uninterestedly, pausing as I heard him turn the page of his orange book.

"Yes." stated my frustrated husband as he took a couple of steps toward him.

_Wow…I've never seen him so worked up…_

"Hmmm…" murmured Kakashi, ignoring Sasuke for several seconds, "I think you're wrong."

"I know I heard her Kakashi," proclaimed the spiky-haired ANBU, "Now stop messing around, I need to find her!"

"Sasuke, would I be standing here if I had heard her?" smoothly reasoned my genin sensei as I heard him snap his book shut.

Sasuke didn't reply.

"Plus," continued Kakashi as his voice softened, "You said so yourself that there was no possibility of her coming here. Your nerves are so hyped up you're hearing things."

There was a long silence between Kakashi and his once favored prodigy. I had to hold my breath in fear of being heard by my husband's acute hearing.

"Hn…Whatever." I heard him mutter in his usual deep tone, "We'll be taking off in several minutes. Make sure this area's cleared before we move out."

"Right-o." I heard Kakashi reply as he opened his book, "Now stop worrying about your wife, Sasuke."

"Che…I'm not worried about anything." snapped my husband before I heard him take off toward where I supposed the rest of the members were.

"Right…" uttered my ex-sensei as he turned around to face me, "You can come out, Sakura. He won't come back."

After pushing myself through the thick brush, I patted the dirt off my cloak and straightened up to face Kakashi.

"Thanks for saving me." I started, pulling leaves and twigs out of my bright hair, "I don't know what I'd do if Sasuke did manage to spot me."

"Heh," Kakashi nodded, showing his acceptance of my gratitude. "Me too."

I couldn't stop the slight upturn on the corner of my lips.

"So," I started, changing the conversation to a more important matter at hand, "You know…everything?"

I could've elaborated more. But I couldn't think of a better word to describe the issues going on between my husband and me.

Apparently, Kakashi didn't need an explanation of what I was referring to because he nodded his head in response.

"Did Ino or Sai tell you?" I continued.

"No," answered the copy ninja, "The Fifth sent me here to help protect you—…"

_Protect me? From what?...The oto nin?_

"—and to investigate."

"Investigate?" I questioned out loud, "Investigate what?"

"Heh-heh, I'm not sure myself," admitted my former sensei as he scratched his head, "but she wants me to be in Sound to see if the Otokage is planning an attack against Konoha."

A few seconds passed by as I processed the information.

_The village would be vulnerable with a good amount of its elite shinobi participating in the exams, so it would make sense for Oto to attack Konoha now..._

"How close are we to Sound?" I questioned, trying to fill the silence.

"Pretty close," answered the porn-addicted jonin, "We're actually twenty miles from the West Gate."

"Wow! That close?"

"Yes," said the middle-aged shinobi, "but we still need to be—."

A kunai suddenly whizzed by my shoulder and landed in-between Kakashi and me. Jerking my body around, I quickly pulled out my own kunai and held it protectively in front of me. On the corner of my eye, I saw my former sensei push his hitai-ate over his brow, exposing his sharingan. An eerie silence filled the area as I scanned the moonlight-illuminated forest for any chakra signatures. Finding none, I widened all my senses, searching for any sign of movement in the nearby trees.

"Show yourself!" demanded the copy nin as he started to move his hands together to form signs, "Or I will hunt you down myself!"

A low, cruel laugh echoed near the shadowed area to my right. Twisting my body around, I tightly gripped my tool and positioned my body to attack. A tall, brown-haired man with deeply imprinted scars on his face immediately stepped out of the shadows. He smirked widely at us as the dim moonlight reflected off his hitai-ate, showing us the all-too-familiar symbol.

_Sound ninja…_

A wave of fear washed over me for a second before my kunoichi mind-set kicked in, trying to smother it. Fear is the worst type of emotion to have in this situation.

"Well look what I've found," Scarface declared cooly as he crossed his sickly-colored arms over his chest, "a couple of lost kittens."

"What do you want!?" I interrupted harshly, ignoring the way my body responded as his frightening black, beady eyes gazed into my narrowed ones.

"Oohh, a feisty one, eh?" the hideous male snarled as he pulled out a set of kunai, "Let's see how spunky you are after I rip the skin off your pretty face!"

With one cry, the sound nin charged straight at me, throwing all of his weapons towards my face. Using my own kunai, I blocked all of them and was about to punch the man in the face but my former sensei beat me to it.

"Go!" Kakashi yelled as he kept his eyes on the enemy while pointing his hand to the right, "Run as fast as you can in that direction and don't stop! The gate will—."

My sensei couldn't finish because the brown-haired ninja attacked him again.

"But…Kakashi…" I stammered, not knowing whether to help him out or listen to him.

"Go now before_ he _comes!" shouted the silver-haired jonin as he formed several hand signs.

I didn't need to be told twice, especially after knowing who _he _was.

* * *

Running as fast as I could through a dense forest wasn't easy, especially if there were so many thick bushes and sharp limbs to avoid. And to top that all off, I couldn't use a single bit of chakra to help boost my speed because I was running low and I wanted to save as much as I could for a potential fight.

After running for several more minutes, I decided to give my aching legs a minute's rest by sharply turning to my right to lean against a tree. While I was catching my breath, I thought about how much longer I had to travel before I reached the border, and after realizing I didn't have much further to go, I pushed myself off the surface of the rough trunk. Eager to reach the village, I took a deep breath and started sprinting in the direction I was heading toward for the past thirty minutes.

As I sped through the woods towards my destination, I saw, from the corner of my eye, a reddish-orange color emerge from one of the many dark shadows of the forest. Acting on instinct, I immediately ducked and twisted my head to catch a glimpse of the flying object that almost took my head off. Embedded in the trunk was an exploding tag connected to a kunai, and it was about to go off.

_Oh shit!_

Letting out a sharp gasp, I scrambled out of my position on the ground and sprinted towards the nearest bush, diving behind it right as I heard the explosion. Taking out several kunai, I stayed crouched beside the shrub as I scanned the area for the enemy. Sensing movement to my left, I threw the tools to my target with perfect aim. After hearing them clang against another weapon, I got up and sprinted towards the direction of the village, hoping that my attack distracted the sound nin so that I could get a head start. For several minutes, I ran as fast as I could and strained my ears for the expected gaining footsteps. After sensing the opponent's nearness, I spun around and made several quick hand signs.

"Narakumi no Jutsu!"

My enemy, who was several meters behind me, fell directly into my genjutsu.

_Heh…I can't believe he fell for that._

After watching the shinobi sway for several seconds, I waited until his body fell unconscious to the forest floor before turning around.

But for some reason I couldn't take off. Something about that sound nin made me hesitate.

Glancing back at my enemy, I inched closer to the body to examine his face and felt the color drain from my face.

It was Scarface.

Worry immediately spread throughout my mind.

_Oh no! What happened back there?! This guy couldn't have defeated Kakashi and Sasu--…!_

I halted my thoughts, knowing very well that worrying would get me nowhere.

Kneeling down on the ground next to the ninja, I summoned chakra to my palm and held it over his head to examine his memories.

_Oh Kami! Please let them be--…_

A strong hand suddenly gripped my wrist and jerked me up. Before I could react, I felt my body being flung through the air until I felt the impact of a rough tree on the back of my head. Letting out a cry of pain, I clutched my now uncloaked head and tried to stay alert even with my blurry vision. Looking back at the body, I realized that Scarface was, in fact, not unconscious. Instead, he was striding towards me with a smirk on his face.

"Sasuke's woman, eh?" he laughed maniacally as I struggled to stand up, "This is definitely a treat."

I could only shoot him a small glare before the bastard pulled me up by the roots of my hair and slammed me into the tree.

"Did you really think that jutsu would work on me," the brown-haired man taunted as I struggled against him, "Kitten?"

Before I could use my superhuman strength on him, the sound nin grabbed my throat and slammed me again into the tree. Almost immediately, I felt my own strength drain from my body. I tried to claw his hands off my throat, but my struggle was in vain and I could only hang limply.

"L-….L-et…me……..g-go!" I weakly choked out as I used one arm to reach for my kunai pack.

"Ah-ah-ah," Scarface scolded as he tore off my pack and flung it behind him.

I accidently let out a devastated cry, but smothered it as soon as I let it out. I ceased my struggles, trying my best to take in as much air from my short breaths. I was angry at myself by letting the enemy see my weakness.

"Don't worry, Kitten," taunted the shinobi as we locked gazes, "I'm not going to kill you yet."

My hands, which were hidden underneath the cloak covering my hanging body, searched silently for the sword strapped behind me. I only had one last chance to escape.

I had to kill this man.

Even though I'm a kunoichi, I have always despised killing people, even if it was the enemy. Over the years I had been trained to be a healer, not a killer. But in order to survive this mess, I had to do it.

Scarface gave me no choice.

Gripping the hem of the sword tighter, I swiftly pulled the sword up and slashed his throat. Hot, red blood showered over me as we both fell to the chilling forest ground. I leaned over and gagged several times, using my other hand to heal my bruised neck. After several minutes of labored breathing, I used my bloody sword to help me sit up and leaned back against the trunk to rest. A minute later, I slowly stood up, cleaned my sword, and sheathed it. Pulling my hood back over my head, I grabbed my kunai pack and started my sprint toward the Sound village.

I never did look back.

* * *

Once the West Gate came into view, I started to slow my pace down. I was so eager to arrive at this village, I had forgotten how shitty it was. I overlooked the small community with disgust. Some of the buildings were torn down from the last Great Ninja War several years ago while other recently constructed buildings stood tall. The entire village looked deserted, and the closer I got, the creepier it became.

After glancing around to make sure no one was around, I quickly made hand signs for the complex jutsu that covered up the user's scent. Using what little chakra I had left, I muttered the words that I had learned as a gift from Kiba and his family a couple years ago.

When I was done, I walked closer to the gates, taking a breath of courage once I was near. If I could make it through that stupid forest, I could sure as hell walk through this run-down place.

After checking the gates and surprisingly finding no guards, I hastily walked through the opening and entered the village, trying to find the closest inn. To my utter horror, the only places I could find were brothels, bars, and drug stands.

_What kind of place is this?_

For the next ten minutes, I still had no luck finding a place to stay at. After wandering around aimlessly and avoiding several people who seemed to be following me, I finally turned toward a street that was filled with merchant stands, restaurants, and two-story inns.

_Yes! Finally!_

Picking the most "decent-looking" one, I walked through the opened door to only be greeted by a sleazy-looking blonde woman.

"What do you want?" croaked the female rudely as she took a whiff of her cigar.

I tried not to be taken aback by her tone.

_You're in Sound, Sakura…Remember that you're in Sound…_

"One room," I answered in a tone strained to be pleasant, "_please_."

"50000 yen." The kimono-dressed woman muttered disinterestedly as she wrote the price down.

"50000 yen!?" I exclaimed in shock, "For one night? That's a rip off!"

"Look, either you pay," the blonde muttered viciously, never taking her eyes away from the paper, "or get the heck out of here."

Sighing exasperatedly, I searched through my pack for the money and slammed it on the counter. I didn't really have much of a choice. It was either this or sleeping in a whore house.

"Room 229." The bitch drawled out as she flipped me the key.

After shooting her a dirty glare, I hastily turned around and climbed the stairs to the second floor. When I arrived at my assigned shoji door, I twisted the lock and slid it open, examining the room.

"Not the best," I muttered to myself as I threw my belongings next to the rolled up bed, "but it's better than the streets."

After thoroughly washing myself with a rag, I threw the bloody-soaked cloth across the room and shoved on the blue robe that hung next to the door. Once I unrolled my bed, I snuggled deeply underneath the sheets and closed my eyes. Right before I went to sleep, I was about to send a prayer to Kami for Sasuke and his squad to arrive safely in the village, but I then decided against it.

Because somehow I knew he was somewhere in this village right now.

_To be continued…_

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_**A/N: **_**Wow…I actually can't think of anything to say…I'm so tired.**

**Well, peace out folks! And don't forget to REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: **_**Don't feel like writing too much here. I don't have much of an excuse for not updating in a while, except college, but you guys would probably roll your eyes at that right?:)**

**I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Thoughts: **_Eeeeeeeeek!!_

**Dialogue:** "Kishi admitted that,"

**Normal: **Sakura hearts Sasuke!!!

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**ANBU**

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By: twinzees

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**Chapter Ten**

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After jerking awake thanks to my internal alarm clock, I slowly sat up and let out a groggy moan due to the slight ache from my sore muscles. Sending a small amount of chakra through my system, I healed the bleeding tissues before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Glancing out of my window, I realized it was mid-morning and, not wanting to waste any more time, I rolled up my mat, took a quick shower, and got dressed. After strapping on my weapons and medical supplies, I locked the sliding door and headed down the stairs to exit through the lobby. I wanted to go exploring through the village not only to find a good place to eat but also to figure out the time and place of the exams.

Once my heel made contact with the dusty road, I unconsciously pulled my hood lower and observed the lively street. Considering what I've traveled through in the wee hours of this morning, I thought Oto wouldn't have a lot of civilians living here. Surprisingly, after spotting men, women, and children of all ages strolling around, I almost felt as if I were back in Konoha. Of course, not all these people could be living here because I'm sure a good handful of them were participants in today's exam. But this type of environment with humans surrounding me was more comforting than what I had seen in the town earlier.

As I walked down the wide street, I looked around and saw various amounts of restaurants, shops, bars, and even stands with merchants selling items ranging from food to accessories.

_It may not be the best…but at least it's bearable._

Something bright, however, caught my eye and made me pause from my journey down the busy road. Walking near the object that caught my curiosity, I found out that it was a bright colored poster nailed into the building. After reading its contents, I found out that it was announcing the time and place the ANBU exams will be held and where its participants should meet.

_Well that was easy…now it's time to grab some grub!_

Knowing that I had to be at the West Gate in a couple of hours, I knew I had to have something decent in case the exams lasted several days with me out in the wilderness. So I made a beeline for the best-looking food place I've seen on my adventure down the street: Snakey's.

Yeah, I know. It's a retarded name given Sound's reputation of a village filled with badass shinobi. But when I passed by it earlier, the smell of those pancakes was so appetizing it almost made me drown in my saliva.

After seating myself in one of the chairs in the corner and looking through the menu, a waitress came by to pick up my order. When she left, I was about to take off my cloak but decided against it. I didn't know where Sasuke or any of the others were, so in case they did decide to show up I wanted to play it safe and keep it on. Besides, I told myself after glancing around at the other customers, I'm not the only one wearing one.

As I waited for my breakfast, I took the time to study the neat little restaurant. Although the décor wasn't fit to be a perfect five stars. The place seemed adequate enough to be a family-oriented eatery, if you didn't count the small bar that resided on the other side. Snakey'salso wasn't very big, but it was roomy enough to fit in plenty of tables and chairs with enough space in-between them to make the diners feel comfortable.

Taking several sips out of my glass of iced water, I noticed that the place seemed to be quite popular. Almost three-fourths of the chairs were filled with both civilian and shinobi customers. And the food on several of the tables looked absolutely scrumptious. Even the-…

The sound of glass shattering resounded throughout the interior of the building.

My rambling thoughts ceased when my eyes, along with everyone else's, landed on the two figures that just froze near the entrance.

"Oops."

"Damn it, Suigetsu, now look what you've done! I told you to leave that fucking thing outside!"

"And let someone steal it?! Are you nuts, woman?!"

_What are they doing here?!_

Putting down my water, I hastily jerked my hood even lower and glimpsed through the opening.

Suigetsu, who seemed to have knocked over an inexpensive-looking vase with his massive sword, attached the blade, which had rested over his shoulder, vertically to the strap on his back. As I observed him, I noticed that almost everything about him hasn't changed much. Of course, his face was more mature than what I've remembered and he gained a little muscle mass. But other than that, his unique white-colored hair was chopped in his usual shoulder-length style, and his violet orbs still held that childish gleam as he smiled toothily at his female companion.

Karin, on the other hand, had changed more than Suigetsu. Although her fiery red hair still had that funky style with one side spiky and the other straight, it was a lot shorter; I'd say a little past her chin. Like Suigetsu, her face had also matured along with her body. The only thing that stayed the same was her eyes: two scarlet spheres framed by black-rimmed glasses.

Right now, I just hoped my chakra pattern has changed so much that she doesn't recognize it.

"Sorry about that miss," Suigetsu flirted as he grinned at the female worker cleaning up the broken pieces, "When I'm about to leave, I can pay you back, full amount."

Karin rolled her eyes and muttered something inscrutable before she snagged Suigetsu by the collar and dragged him further into the restaurant. As they walked in my direction, I pretended to look the other way, but I glanced back up as they passed me to catch the symbol embedded into their forehead protectors.

_The Oto symbol._

As they sat down in the table next to mine, I couldn't help but wonder why they would rejoin Sound of all places. I knew they weren't totally happy living in Konohagakure, but when they asked for permission to leave the village two years ago, I figured they would at least go to Mist…Otogakure, I was told by my husband, had too many painful memories for them.

_I guess we were both wrong._

"Here's your order." My waitress stated politely as she placed the food on the table.

When she left, I started to slowly consume my breakfast. I chewed slowly so that my sharp ears could pick up what Sasuke's two ex-teammates were conversing about. It wasn't easy because I had to block out all the other nonsense chattering the other people in Snakey'swere making, which resumed when Karin and Suigetsu had sat down.

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" uttered an irritated Karin as she crossed her legs.

"I don't know," shrugged Suigetsu as he picked his teeth with a toothpick, "he's the one who contacted you. You tell me."

"…Do you think it's wise to talk about this here?"

"Uhhh…yeah?"

"In a _public _area?!"

"Will you relax?"

"I am relaxed!"

"Well enough with the twenty questions already!"

As the two shinobi kept bickering, a third person, a man I guessed whose face was shadowed under the hood of his tan cloak, waltzed through the entrance of the building and headed straight toward their table.

"Sorry I'm late," murmured the stranger as he sat down in one of the unoccupied chairs. "Otokage-sama wanted me to scout the grounds before sending me here."

"No worries," Suigetsu answered before he ordered three pitchers of water, "Now let's get down to business. What were his orders?"

I had to strain my ears to listen to what the outsider said next because his voice just barely got above a whisper.

"Lord Otokage wants you two to help the others find the target…You both should know who it is."

"He wants us to kill her already?" Suigetsu smirked.

"Of course not, dumbass!" Karin piped in heatedly, "He wants us to capture her, right?"

The hooded man didn't answer, but from what I could make out in the corner of my eye, he nodded at her statement.

"Why does he want to do it now?" Suigetsu questioned, "Her husband is here too, you know. What if he finds out his wife is missing and goes haywire on Oto?"

"He won't." assured the mysterious stranger, "Not when she is in our clutches. Otokage-sama said it was the best way to control the Kyuubi."

_Oh no!_

I thought to myself as tremors of shock ran through me.

_They're going to capture Hinata!_

After digging through my pocket for cash to pay for both my meal and tip, I casually placed it on the middle of the table and left the restaurant, not looking back as I quickly walked back to my hotel.

_I've got to warn the others!_

I wasted no time as I packed all the weapons I could find and shoved some extra food into my pack. Once I double checked the room for any scattered items, I headed out once again to the streets. This time, however, I traveled in the opposite direction from where I left this morning. I figured with the ANBU exams starting in less than an hour, I would meet some Konoha ninjas along the way or at least at the West Gate. I really didn't want to confront any of them now. But because one of my closest friends was in danger, it was imperative that I warned someone.

* * *

When I arrived at the gate, a good number of shinobi from other villages were already standing in line to register. After taking one glance around and not spotting a single Leaf nin, I decided to get in one of the lines.

Once at the front, I handed the man the envelope Sai had given me. As soon as he finished reading it, the male peered up at me as a smirk broke through his thin lips.

"Uchiha Sakura, eh? Never would have thought I'd see a good-lookin' lass like you here, in Oto, without your husband."

I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Just because I'm married," I replied with a bitter smile, "doesn't mean I always have to be hooked to his side. And, for your information, I can defend myself very well without him."

"Well, if you think that way, sweetheart." The asshole chuckled, "then you're in for a surprise on what you're about to face during this exam….Next!"

After sending the guy the coldest glare I could muster, I sharply pivoted on my heel and stormed in the opposite direction from where he was sitting.

_Who does he think he is?! I should just go back and put him in his place!_

Unfortunately, while I was internally fuming, I wasn't entirely paying attention to where I was going and my shoulder bumped harshly with someone else's. I paused in my rampaging and twisted my head around to apologize but what I saw next made me swallow the words.

I watched in utter horror as I caught sight of the back of Uchiha Sasuke, who seemed to be knocked off-balance from the collision.

_Holy hell!!_

Not wanting my husband to drag me away from the exams (because I knew he was capably well of doing so), I quickly jerked my head around and took off right before I sensed Sasuke's eyes glare fiercely at my form. And of course, in my panic to get away, I once again bumped shoulders with another poor soul.

"Hey lady!" shouted a voice that I recognized as Kiba's as I kept retreating toward the outskirts of the crowd, "Watch where you're going!"

After several minutes of hanging out behind a group of unknown Sand jounin, I finally had the guts to peek at the group of Konoha ANBU standing near the line of Leaf shinobi. Although their faces were hidden behind masks, I could make out whom most of them were.

"Quite the troublemaker, aren't you?" a familiar voice teased behind me.

"Kakashi," I stated as I kept my eyes glued to my husband and the others, "I need to tell you something."

My ex-sensei listened patiently as I told him the information I learned from Suigetsu, Karin, and the stranger this morning.

"—so from what I heard," I explained as I watched a fox-masked ANBU slap his hand hard on Sasuke's back before wrapping his arm around his neck, "it sounds like they're going to use Hinata as a tool to not only control Naruto--"

"--but also to force him into attacking Konoha," the silver-haired nin finished.

Kakashi and I stood in silence as I watched my husband punch Naruto in the gut. As his best friend sunk to the ground in pain, Sasuke and a couple other ANBU walked toward the West Gate before their figures vanished into the shadows of the forest.

"What the-…where are they going?" I questioned as my ex-sensei moved to stand beside me.

"Sound doesn't have a lot of ANBU. So the Otokage requested for other ANBU shinobi from the neighboring villages to help out in the exams. Sasuke and some others were picked to be proctors…" Kakashi paused in his explanation before he muttered sarcastically, "…though their definition of "proctor" is a lot different from ours…Well Sakura, I need to tell the others about this."

Before he could leave, I grabbed hold of his hand. "What about Suigetsu and Karin?"

"Those two never swore loyalty to the Hokage. To me, they're no better than the other Sound ninja. If you see them, you must take them down, Sakura."

After a firm nod, I released Kakashi's hand. "I'll also do my best to protect Hinata."

The sharingan-user granted me a small smile before making his way to the other Konoha nins.

"I know you will."

_To be continued…_

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_**A/N: **_**Guess what?!.....IIIII'mmmmm bbbbaccckkkk!!!! Did you miss me?**

**Well, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. But I can promise you that I'll be working on it. I've already got the whole plot stuck in my head but I need to type it out (which can take a while).**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


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